When Pirate and Pirate Meet Again
by The Giant Daifuku
Summary: Sequel to When Pirate and Pirate Meet. Promised to be freed from his curse by a shadow in a dream should he help it, Balthier returns to the world of the Caribbean to spring Jack from the Locker. This time, Fran has also been dragged along for the ride!
1. The Dream Shadow

This one will probably be a little creepier than with _When Pirate and Pirate Meet_, because I felt that while _Curse of the Black Pearl_ was relatively light hearted, _At World's End_ was much darker. I am already fired up to do the next chapter, but I will have to put out another chapter in each of my other fanfictions, _Protecting Harry Potter_ and _The Fellowship of the Rings plus Sai_ before I do so…

This first chapter is dedicated to **ElTangoDeRoxanne**, who was my most fervent supporter last time, so I hope you enjoy this one just as much.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XII or Pirates of the Caribbean

* * *

Balthier dreamed; an occurrence odd in itself. Being undead, he had no need for sleep, but he could relax into a state near slumber. He had not dreamed for several months now. He lay in the cockpit of his ship, the _Strahl_, slumped over the control panel. Fran stood next to him, but did not disturb him, not even to move him to his bunk, for fear that she might draw him from his welcome respite from the torment of day to day living.

Only in his sleep did Balthier look vulnerable.

* * *

They were silent as they were marched to the gallows. Some cried, some shouted wordlessly, but it was all the same in the end. The pile of boots in the courtyard grew; a child's buckled shoes were thrown onto the stack.

Then he could hear them, the souls of the dead, saying words that whispered on the cold wind that stung his face.

_Yo ho… thieves and beggars… never shall we die…_

* * *

The dream faded into darkness, but he still didn't wake. The darkness transformed into a dungeon, and Balthier was locked inside.

_Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades… _a voice sighed to him in from the depths of the shadows. In his dreamscape, Balthier whipped around to face the barren confines of his prison.

"Who calls me by that name?" he cried into the emptiness.

_Yo ho… thieves and beggars… never shall we die…_

Balthier shook his head, backing into a corner, hand whipping up to grab a gun that was not there.

"Who's there?" he called again wildly, eyes darting around the cell.

_I have need of your services._

A shadowed figure stood on the other side of the door, looking in at him. Balthier watched it warily.

"Who are you? How do you know that name?"

_Before me, all your pretexts are laid bare, Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades…_

He realized that he was a skeleton, but no moonlight shone upon his skin. Balthier flung himself at the bars, rattling them, his hand shooting out to grasp at the shadow's throat. His groping fingers met thin air.

_Look at what you have become and are becoming, Ffamran. You are a trapped creature, caged in your own flesh. The Mist does not react favorably to your… condition. _The shadow warped, became a reflection of himself.

His flesh colored face leered back at him, baring sharpened teeth that no Hume should have. His own familiar golden eyes flashed once, turning a bestial shade of yellow with slit pupils, before dampening back to their normal hue. The reflection Balthier smirked again, showing off the sharp teeth that remained the same, before vanishing.

Balthier shrank back from the bars, clutching his head in his hands.

"I'm becoming a monster," he whispered in horror.

_Yo ho… thieves and beggars… never shall we die…_

"Shut up!" Balthier screamed at nobody. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

_I have need of your services. _The shadow was back at the door.

Balthier sobbed.

_Some are dead and some are alive… others sail on the sea…_ a haunting voice drifted through the dungeon.

"What do you want?" he moaned, looking up at the shadow.

…_With keys to the cage, and the devil to pay… _The voice of Elizabeth Swann.

"Why do you torment me with voices from my past?" Balthier staggered to his feet, clutching the bars of his prison.

_I have need of your services_.

"Enough. I will hear your terms."

_Jack Sparrow is dead, and with him, _my_ hopes of returning home. You know of whom I speak._

"Jack… dead?" Balthier could not believe what he heard.

_I need you to guide them to him. I fear I have been betrayed._

"I don't even know where he is."

_You will find out._

"What is in it for me?"

_Always you think that. Set me free, let _me_ go home, and I shall set you free in turn._ The shadow reached out and touched his heart.

With a gasp, he realized that it beat strong under the shadow's grip.

"You'll lift the curse if I return to Jack's world and complete your task? Will I return once I am done?"

_Yes. Prepare yourself, Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades… we will meet again tomorrow. Don't think you will be going alone this time.._ The dungeon was lit with blinding white light, and the shadow faded. Elizabeth's voice still sang sweetly.

_Yo ho… haul together, hoist the colors high… _

_Heave ho… thieves and beggars… never shall we die…_

* * *

"What bothers you, Balthier?" Fran followed him from the tiny room that stored their weaponry back to the cockpit, where he opened a locker. He jumped to avoid getting pummeled by the deluge of items that dropped onto the floor. A few stray tufts of Phoenix Down drifted down to rest on top, along with a metallic blue bracelet. Balthier swiped it from the pile, jamming it onto his wrist.

"That's where that went! I was wondering about that…" he trailed off , and dumped a pile of Dark shot and a few rounds of Mud shot into his side pouch. Ethers and a few potions went in the other. When he realized Fran was blocking the doorway, he froze.

"Tell me what you are about to do that involves Deathbringer, Fomalhaut, and Danjuro, and then I shall move." she said threateningly, narrowing her crimson eyes. Balthier quailed before her stern gaze, and recounted his dream.

"The shadow asked you to return to that world?" she asked, her face inscrutable, but Balthier watched her ears quiver.

"Yes, and it said I would not be alone. That can only mean that you're going with me!" Balthier said excitably. Fran sighed, knowing better than to try to argue him out of doing anything when he got like this, and unbarred the way to the rest of the ship. She did not even jump when he passed under a beam of moonlight shining down from a sky light, a creak signifying his brief change. She was more disturbed by his smile: she caught a flash of sharp teeth. Teeth meant to rip into flesh.

"Then I shall prepare myself suitably." she walked into their "armory", selecting her best bow (the Perseus Bow because they were trying to hold onto enough money long enough to buy her a Sagittarius), and strapping a few quivers of Lightning arrows to her back. "I assume we are traveling light?" she asked. He nodded, but frowned when she went into the kitchen.

"Fran? What are you doing?" Balthier asked, peering into the gloom. He was slightly disturbed when his eyes could penetrate the darkness with little trouble.

_I _am_ becoming a monster_. In his reflection on a steel cabinet, his eyes glinted cold yellow, fading when he flicked on the kitchen light. _Like a nocturnal predator_.

It was clear Fran could see what was happening to him as she emerged with a few ration sacks, worry written on her face. She put the sacks on the table and drew him into her arms.

"I worry about you, Balthier." she murmured into his hair. He nodded, nuzzling his face deeper into her shoulder. Fran could feel his cold skin even through her black leather clothing. Ever since he had returned from his adventure in the place called the Caribbean, he had gotten into the habit of drinking in her body heat whenever given the opportunity. Consistently having skin that felt cold as ice had its drawbacks whenever he had to shake hands— at a party in Balfonheim, Balthier had nearly scalded his hands off trying to retain enough heat to last through the introductions.

"I know you worry about me. _I _worry about me." he mumbled, his voice muffled by her shoulder, but Fran heard him clearly with her Viera's ears. Balthier looked up into her eyes.

"Don't worry. When this is all over, I promise I will be right as rain." he said, placing a hand over his heart. "I always keep my promises."

"I am glad for that." Fran released him, and he took a reluctant step back. She picked up the ration packs, slinging them over her shoulder. "Now, how are we going to get there?" she asked. Balthier dropped his gaze and turned away, heading back to the room they shared.

"I don't know. I'm just going to go lie down a bit. Maybe something will come to me." he said.

"I will come with you." Fran said.

They ended up curled together on the bottom bunk bed, the ration sacks and Fran's bow sandwiched between them. Fran had lain awake for a while, tracing the patterns on the front of Balthier's vest. He wore a black vest with silver whorls and intricate swirls today. Eventually, she fell asleep, her breathe deep and even. It smelled of flowers and berries as it washed over Balthier's face, and he inhaled deeply. The edge of her bow was digging into his thigh, and he shifted slightly to rid himself of the annoyance. Fran's breathe hitched, and she opened her eyes, blinking somnolently.

"Sleep, Balthier." She murmured, casting the spell. He smiled at her gratefully, and closed his eyes.

* * *

His dreamscape was dark, as it always was, but this time, a figure of pure light stood next to him. He recognized the outline— how many people had rabbit ears atop their heads? Fran.

At their feet, a watery path sprang into being, reflecting stars that did not exist in the void. Balthier took an exploratory step. The path rippled, but he remained supported above it. He turned back to Fran's white silhouette, gesturing for her to follow, which she did. If she had said anything, he did not hear it.

They walked for what felt like ages, the path winding through the darkness, stars twinkling beneath their feet. The only sound was the hollow echo of his footsteps. Suddenly the path stopped. Balthier squinted, tapping his new ability to see in the dark, and realized the path hadn't ended.

The shadow stood before them, almost invisible in the darkness of his dreamscape.

"Let us pass." Balthier said. "We've come to set you free."

The shadow turned away from him, drawing out a sigil in the air. The sigil glowed brilliant white, and Balthier covered his eyes, overwhelmed by the glare. Suddenly he felt a shove from behind, and tumbled through the door that appeared. When he could see again, he saw Fran's shining silhouette falling behind him.

* * *

The door faded, and Balthier sat up, coughing in the smoke that suddenly engulfed them. Fran landed next to him in a crumpled heap, back to her normal, corporeal self. She stood as soon as she touched the ground, red eyes taking in their surroundings.

It was a port of some kind, and obviously a battle was being waged. Gunshots rang out around them, and swords clanged and clashed. On the river before them, a ship was stealthily sailing away. Balthier recognized the outline of a woman on the boat: it was Elizabeth Swann. She stood with another woman, this one with matted tangled hair. It could have been Anamaria, but it didn't seem right.

"I think that is the ship we have to catch." Balthier said to Fran, before sprinting to the end of the pier.

"They are trying to leave unseen. It would be best if we got their attention in as unobtrusively as possible." Fran observed.

Balthier searched the ground, and found a tiny pebble.

"How about this?" he asked, tossing it toward the boat. As luck would have it, he managed to hit Elizabeth square in the back of the head. She spun, rubbing her head, a gun whipping out of nowhere, eyes searching the smoke for the perpetrator. When she spotted Balthier, who waved at her cheerfully, her jaw dropped.

"Come on." Balthier dove off the dock, Fran following him, and swam to the ship. Elizabeth and the other woman helped them aboard.

"I can't believe it! It's really you!" she whispered, flinging herself into his arms. Balthier awkwardly patted her back, his face coloring slightly in the presence of Fran, who raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.

"Ah, Fran! This is Elizabeth Swann, that young lady I told you I met in the Caribbean adventure." he said. "Elizabeth, please meet Fran, my one and only partner."

Fran towered over Elizabeth, and most likely would have even without her two pronged stilettos. Elizabeth's eyes were glued to Fran's ears, which moved to catch even the slightest sound.

"A pleasure." Fran said with a bow. Elizabeth jumped, remembering her manners.

"The pleasure is all mine." she replied, still watching Fran's ears. "Sorry, but are those… real? Do you mind if…?" Elizabeth's fingers twitched, revealing her intent. _Do you mind if I touch them?_

Balthier gulped. "Fran," he reminded her urgently. "Remember how I told you there aren't Viera here."

Fran's ear flicked slightly, but finally she deigned to swallow her pride to sate Elizabeth's curiosity. The girl ran her fingers over the soft fur and through Fran's snow white hair.

"They are real." Fran said coolly, standing back up.

"They're lovely." Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Thank you."

Balthier cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt you, ladies, but what is going on? I am pretty sure that this is _not_ the Caribbean." he said.

Elizabeth tore her eyes away from Fran and to Balthier. "Oh, we're in Singapore at the moment, trying to flee the East India Trading Company. We are headed for World's End, and the beyond. To Davy Jones' Locker." she explained.

"We go to free Jack Sparrow." a distinct voice, heavily accented said. The woman who had stood on the deck next to Elizabeth approached them. Her face was heavily marked with kohl, and many of her teeth were stained black. There was something familiar about her, though Balthier could not place his finger on it.

"This is Tia Dalma, our guide of sorts." Elizabeth said.

"Welcome, Fran and Balt'ier." Tia Dalma said with a toothy grin. Balthier gave a courtly bow, Fran slightly stiffer, and Tia Dalma laughed grimly. "You have come far jus' to meet up wit' a few friends, hm?" she said lightly. "Dere is more in fer you than you know."

Fran's left ear swiveled toward the ship cabin. She could hear the noise of stomping feet coming onto the deck. The footsteps had an air of authority.

"_Balthier, someone comes._" she warned him in Vieran. He nodded, turning toward the direction she indicated, when a gunshot rang out. A bullet caught him right in the forehead, and he slumped to the deck, his eyes wide and staring vacantly. Elizabeth gave a little shriek, and Tia Dalma whirled, a growl lifting her upper lip. Fran caught him before he injured himself on the paraphernalia strewn on the floor, her eyes vengefully seeking for the one who had shot _her_ Balthier. She wasn't particularly worried about him, as sure enough, after a time Balthier groaned and doubled over, holding a hand to the healing bullet hole.

"I hate being shot." he mumbled. "Who did that?" he looked around, and spotted the figure, bearing a smoking pistol. He recognized Hector Barbossa immediately, his eyes widening and hate flooding into them. They flashed yellow as his hand whipped up to Fomalhaut, taking aim with lightning speed. Tia Dalma was between them before he could fire.

"Stop!" she commanded, pushing down the gun barrel. "You would fire on your aid, Barbossa?" she asked the captain.

Barbossa shoved his pistol back into his belt and strode down to meet them. Grudgingly, Balthier replaced Fomalhaut on his back.

"Ar, I suppose I should be offerin' an apology then." Barbossa said, holding his hand out to shake Balthier's. Glaring at him, Balthier shook the proffered appendage. Barbossa smiled knowingly.

"Yer hands are cold. You went back for the curse, didn't you." he said.

"For a good reason." Balthier retorted, his hand dropping to Deathbringer. "How are you still here? Last I saw you, you were a bloody smear on the floor of Isla de Muerta, taking your last breathe."

"Courtesy of milady Tia Dalma here." Barbossa smirked, ignoring the dirty look the voodoo woman shot him.

"Why are you back?" Balthier said, his voice shaking with ill contained rage.

"They needed someone who's been to the Gates o' Death an' back to guide 'em to World's End." the pirate said smugly. "We be a-goin' to retrieve Jack an' his piece of Eight out of Davy Jones Locker, a place of eternal torment for the body an' soul."

He eyed Fran. "Is yer bunny girl up for it?"

"I would be nowhere without Fran." Balthier said coldly, turning his back on Barbossa and stalking to the front of the ship. Elizabeth and Fran followed.

"Is he the one who originally did that to you?" Fran asked, referring to the curse. Balthier played with his bracelets absently, listening to the quiet tinkle as they clacked together.

"Yes." he replied, looking over the waves. "But if he hadn't, I would not have found my way back to you, so I guess I owe him that."

Fran leaned against the gunwale, watching him.

"The curse is warping you into something else. Something not really Hume anymore." she said quietly.

"The shadow said it had to do with the Mist reacting to the foreign magic." Balthier replied, giving his recently recovered blue bracelet a tap to hear it ring.

"When we were in the void, I saw you as a figure of white, with darkness like flowing inside like ink." Fran put a hand over his, completely covering it. Balthier smiled.

"Ah, you were pure as an angel!" he laughed, trying to be light hearted. "Let us chat about something less gloomy now, shall we?" he said loudly, watching Elizabeth draw near.

"There is not much that is not gloomy anymore." Elizabeth replied, sitting down on a barrel.

"Where is Will? I thought you two nigh inseparable."

The girl bit her lip. "He's below deck, helping out."

"I see." Balthier examined Fomalhaut, wiping away some imaginary specks.

"Jack was eaten by the Kraken, a sea monster commanded by Davy Jones. Now the East India Trading Company threatens to rule the seas by commanding Jones, stamping out all free men who sail before a pirate flag or associate themselves with pirates." Elizabeth suddenly said. Balthier suddenly thought of his dream, the child hung at the gallows.

"That is why you and Will fled, because you knew Jack." Fran clarified, and Elizabeth nodded.

"But it is time for him to return." Tia Dalma sat, putting her tray of candles next to them. "He has a role to play in de future yet." Balthier started, not having even noticed her until she'd spoken.

_Why is she so familiar?_ He was mentally kicking himself. Tia Dalma was still speaking.

"Beyond a sea of ice and a sea of darkness lies de edge of de world, for those who would seek it."

Balthier snorted. "From my experience, it's getting there that is easy. It's coming back that is always the hard part."

* * *

Please review.


	2. Over the Edge

I lied. I liked this story too much to write the others… I love _At World's End…_ it is so eerie and awesome. Anyway, thank you **ElTangoDeRoxanne**! I always look forward to getting your review.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or Final Fantasy XII.

* * *

Fran shivered as they sailed on the glassy sea, huge ice shelves towering above them, dwarfing the _Hai Peng._ Her attire was definitely not suited for cold weather, and, disgusting as it was, she had suffered the indignity to wear a pair of socks borrowed from one of the crewmembers over her ears, lest they freeze and break off like one of the other men's toes. Jack the monkey sat in her lap, rubbing his arms, too frozen to chatter at her like he usually did. Balthier did his best to help the crew, but in the end, it wasn't enough. After a while, even he could feel the deadly cold that bit at his finger tips and toes. He ended up hunkered over the strange charts that they had obtained from Pirate Lord Sao Feng with Will, Fran and Tai Huang, Sao Feng's second in command.

Will had changed over the time that Balthier had been gone. He had matured, was not as naïve as before, and had acquired a certain air of authority and deviousness about him. Balthier wasn't sure if he approved of the new Will, and was willing to bet that it bode ill for the future. He watched him turn the map with numb fingers, and listened as he read various inscriptions formed. None of them made any sense, but that was why the entire map itself was a puzzle. He leaned back, closing his eyes. Fran looked up from where she had been stroking Jack the monkey's fur as Will suddenly said,

"Sunrise sets flash of green." Balthier opened his eyes.

"Any idea what that's supposed to mean?" he asked. Will shook his head, and looked toward the helm, where Barbossa stood steering the ship.

"I know who may, though." Will replied. Fran shook her head, frost, ice, and snow cascading to the ground.

"Barbossa seems knowledgeable, but untrustworthy. Do not make the mistake of entrusting him with too much." she said.

"We've all had experience with that." Will said bitterly as he rose to question their captain. "Sunrise sets flash of green— care for a translation?"

Barbossa stared at the map for a moment, and Balthier wondered if the man was even literate. Apparently he was, for after a time, he turned to Gibbs, who stood on the lookout. Elizabeth was huddled under a blanket nearby.

"Ever gazed upon the green flash?" he asked.

"I've seen it. Reckon most recently 'twas when I was at the Isla de Muerta, a week after..." Gibbs answered, rubbing his rimy beard and glancing at Barbossa. _A week after you died_.

"Isla de Muerta? Why were you there?" Barbossa frowned.

"You were going home." Will said suddenly, looking at Balthier, understanding dawning on his face. "Balthier went to the Isla de Muerta to harness the power in the coins in order to send himself across worlds and back to Ivalice."

Balthier remembered the moment he had cut the Teleportation Stone, the roar of the power coursing through his veins, and the blinding green light.

"There was a green flash then." he whispered. Barbossa looked disbelieving.

"_Across worlds?_ Have you been at the bottle, boys?" he asked.

"No. That is why I'm still cursed, Barbossa, not because I wanted immortality, but because I had to go back to Ivalice." Balthier explained.

"And back to that bunny girl." Barbossa snorted, and Balthier rolled his eyes as one of Fran's sock covered ears cocked toward them. She looked silly, but anyone who told her that would probably find themselves skewered on the end of her claws, or shot full of arrows.

"I swear she's stealing my monkey." Barbossa continued. "But let's get back to this green flash business. If what you say is true, then the flash may very well appear when a gate between worlds is open, when it is possible to travel into the beyond."

Pintel, with a poor shot at being dramatic, assumed a solemn expression. "It is said that it signifies when a soul returns from the dead." It was ruined by his shadow, Ragetti, who added,

"Or returns to bein' dead."

"You need to learn how to deliver a punch line, mate." Balthier said with a smirk. Fran walked up behind him, her two pronged stilettos clacking on the wooden deck.

"And I suppose you would say that the leading man is a perfect example of that?" she asked. "I agree with Balthier. It will not be getting there that is difficult. If the phenomenon of the green flash is what we are waiting for to return, it will be getting back that is hard."

A great cave loomed ahead of them, and Barbossa steered the ship straight inside. The shadows grew, and the ship was swallowed inside.

* * *

The sea was like a mirror, reflecting the stars twinkling in the sky. It was impossible to see where the sky and sea ended. Balthier frowned: they were in an ice cave! How were there stars? It was so much like the void between worlds, a realm of endless darkness and one, starlit path. Perhaps they had passed into another void, this one a sea path.

The haunting sound of Tia Dalma's locket echoed in the gloom. Balthier wandered to the front of the ship, where the obeah witch sat silently with Fran and Elizabeth. Will was already there, trying to speak with the latter Hume girl.

"How long are we not to speak to each other?" he asked. Elizabeth looked at him, biting her lip, and turned away.

"Once we rescue Jack, everything will be fine." she said, her voice cracking. Balthier did not miss the pained expression that crossed Will's face. The former blacksmith was jealous.

"Then we will rescue Jack." he said, trying to win back her favor. Elizabeth merely sighed, walking away from him. Will turned to look at her and caught sight of Balthier.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." he said quietly. He hadn't heard him coming, either. "She's been avoiding me like this ever since Jack's death."

Balthier stared into the eternal night with enhanced senses. He wondered if this was how Fran felt all the time as he breathed in the scent of the salty sea, the grimy men, and just a hint of _her_. To his eyes, the stars were brighter, the ocean not so glassy, the cavern not as quiet, broken by the distant growls of moving ice. It was cold, but not as bad as outside. Frost no longer coated everything in sight.

"What happened when Jack died?" he asked.

"They kissed before he died." Will answered, his voice almost inaudible, but Balthier heard him as loud as if he were speaking.

"They did?" Balthier wasn't surprised, Jack had an eye for Elizabeth and lamented the loss of her presence after she had gone.

"And then the Kraken dragged the ship down to the depths." Will said.

"He went down with the ship? I can't see him doing it intentionally."

"Neither can I. Elizabeth had something to do with it." Will looked toward where she'd gone. Balthier understood how he felt; betrayed and lost. Lonely.

After Balthier gotten used to the hunger, and thirst that constantly plagued him, it had been easier to manage being undead. Fran had helped him overcome the loneliness and the darkness, like she helped him with so many things, but now he was changing, transforming into a monster that she one day may not be able to control. Balthier hoped he would be strong enough to stop himself, but at the same time, hoped that he would not have enough humanity left to know when he killed her. His worst fear was that Fran would die at his hand.

Now, when he looked at the men carrying out their duties on the _Hai Peng_, the hunger reemerged. He gasped at the sudden pain, biting his lip to stifle a groan. Blood welled from the cuts his teeth caused. Will looked at him with concern.

"Balthier?" he put a hand to the sky pirate's shoulder.

"It's fine…" Balthier choked, stumbling to sit next to Fran. Tia Dalma watched them sadly.

"It is as I feared." Fran said as he leaned against her.

"What did you fear?" he asked.

"The Mist in our world was changing you into something more similar to _our_ undead." she replied, referring to the various zombies, skeletons, and lost souls that wandered the ruins and caves of Ivalice. "You have developed the flesh hungering."

Balthier leaned his head back, feeling her warm skin against the back of his neck. It was well known that the reanimated denizens of the darkness had a taste for eating the living. "So this is turning into a fight to retain my bloody humanity now, isn't it?" he asked. "Hang it all."

"Dere is still hope for you yet, Balt'ier." Tia Dalma said from her perch nearby. "Your dreams tell you thus." Balthier sat up to better view her.

"How do you know of my dreams?" he asked.

"I know many, many t'ings, Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades." she answered, closing her locket with an echoing snap. Balthier's sharp intake of breathe was the only sign of his anger at hearing his old name.

"That boy is dead." he said coldly. "He's dead and buried and whoever he was does not exist."

"And what of you, Balthier?" Fran asked. "Are you being buried by the sickness that spreads through your body?"

He sighed, lying back down on her lap. "I don't want to believe it, though it most likely be true."

* * *

Balthier opened his eyes at the dull roar that filled his ears. Fran was already looking toward the direction of the sound, her ears erect. Cold mist drenched her fur and hair, twinkling like diamonds in the half light.

"What's going on?" He mumbled, blinking. The deck was becoming a flurry of activity as people were becoming aware of the rumble that sounded ominously like… a waterfall. Balthier sat bolt upright, straining to see ahead.

This world was apparently _not_ round. The ocean spilled over the edge of the world into a dark abyss, going on forever. And it was toward this abyss that the _Hai Peng_ was being drawn.

"It's the edge of the world!" Will shouted the obvious. "Turn us around!"

Barbossa held the helm steady. "We're done for now!" he whooped, pushing Will away when he tried to turn the ship. "You have to be lost to find places what can't be found, for sure!" Will turned, disgusted.

"To stations! All hands on deck!" he shouted. "Turn her away! All hands to the rudder!"

"BELAY THAT!" Barbossa bellowed. "Let her run straight and true!"

The chasm yawned open below, like some monstrous mouth.

"He's doomed us all!" Elizabeth breathed. "Do something!" she screamed at Balthier, grabbing him by the front of his vest (granted, there wasn't much to grab). Fran slapped her hand away.

"Do what?" she asked calmly. "The waters are too strong. There is only one way to go."

"Down!" Balthier finished. "A most fitting way for the leading man and lady to go, together!"

"Death does not wait beyond the abyss. You should know that better than any." Fran muttered to him.

"Way to ruin my lines." Balthier gripped the ropes in a white knuckled death grip, Fran at his side, and amid the screams of falling men and the creak of breaking timber, he gave her a kiss.

* * *

He opened his eyes and found himself lying in the void again, on the star filled path. The shining outline of Fran was next to him, already on her feet. Was it just him, or was she more blinding than usual? The shadow was on the path ahead.

_Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades…_ the shadow sighed. Balthier recognized the voice now, though the shadow was as generically human shaped as usual.

"If you insist on calling me that name, so be it, Tia Dalma." he said sourly.

_Before me, all your pretexts are laid bare_.

"What is it you want? We aren't going through that all over again." The void changed, transforming back into the prison, and the shadow was on the other side of the bars, as usual. And this time, so was Fran.

_You are close, Ffamran. Closer now than you were before. But I want out soon, for I am in a prison, same as you._

"I am being swallowed. I am closer: closer to becoming a fiend!" Balthier snarled, approaching the bars.

_And I am made less than I should be_. _I will deliver you to him, and you must do the rest from there_. The shadow turned away, at least he thought it did.

He didn't know why he did it. Suddenly, with an inhuman snarl that ripped unbidden from his throat, he leaped at the bars, smashing against them and rattling them with strength he did not know he possessed. The hunger drove him into a greater rage. His hand shot through the bars again, grasping at the shadow. As soon as his hand passed through it, he was a skeleton. Balthier snarled again, and the shadow turned back toward him.

_You are close Ffamran. Closer now than you were before_.

Balthier struggled for control, thrusting himself away from the bars. The shadow of Tia Dalma pushed through them as if they weren't there, putting her hand on his wildly beating heart.

_I am less than I should be. I can only lessen the symptoms for now. Free me, and I will free you in turn_.

The prison dissolved again, and he found himself back in the void, the water around his feet rippling. The door of light shone in front of him.

_Go._ He slipped through the door of light, grasping Fran's brilliant hand, though it burned him to do so, and fell back to earth.

* * *

"I believe we are here." Fran's voice brought him back to wakefulness, and he opened his eyes in time to see purple light dissipating into the air. "I cast Dark to make you feel better."

"Ah… thank you." Balthier sat up, stretching. "Now, where is here?" he squinted across the desert of white rock. In the distance, there was a black island. But when he focused more, the island resolved itself into a ship.

"It is Davy Jones' Locker." Fran said, helping him to his feet. "The place is rife with strange magic. It would be best for us to collect Jack and leave a soon as possible."

"Right."

Fran was right; the place was very strange indeed! They began walking toward the _Pearl_, the dark island in the distance, but it never seemed to get closer, though they walked for what seemed like a good hour. It was impossible to tell, for the sun never changed position in the sky, frozen as if in eternal noon. Fran took a small sip from her water skin, but spat it out quickly. Balthier took the water skin from her, overturning it.

White sand poured out onto the ground. They stared at each other for a moment, and back to the ship.

"Strange, indeed." Balthier murmured, handing Fran the empty flask. "What could this be all about?"

"The magic could be distorting time, making one moment stretch on forever." Fran offered one theory. Balthier nodded.

"Yes, or…" he cocked his head, glaring at the _Black Pearl_. "Could it be just an illusion? Fran, try casting Dispel on yourself." She obliged, and blinked when the _Pearl _leaped into focus, only a few hundred feet away.

"We are right there," Fran said. "This is a place of torment, indeed. One could feel as if they walked for a lifetime and never reach their destination."

Balthier nodded. "This truly is a terrible place. Now, let's give a call and see if he's home, shall we?" He did not let his eyes decieve him as he reached forward, and suddenly, with a bump, he realized he was right in front of the _Pearl_. A rope hung down from the side of the ship. Balthier gave it an experimental tug, turning to Fran and raising an eyebrow when it dropped to the ground, apparently unattached from above. She flicked her ears in response, shrugging and squinting up at the ship.

"Give it to me." she said, tying the rope around an arrow and shooting it up onto the _Black Pearl_. The arrow imbedded itself in the wood, and this time, the rope stayed when Balthier pulled.

"Thank you." he said, climbing aboard, Fran clambering up behind him. A faint voice met their ears as the clambered over the rail.

"Step lively with a will!" Jack's voice shouted, and he paced the deck, barking orders to… no one. Balthier was even more disturbed when Jack suddenly sprinted down the deck, shouting, "Aye aye! I'm on it!" and began to tie ropes and put away buckets. He came to a sudden halt, shouting into the rigging, "Man the yards, you filthy toads!"

"You said he seemed mad, but you never mentioned this." Fran said.

"I assure you, I have no idea what is going on." Balthier said. At the sound of his voice, Jack froze.

"Well, well, well." Jack strode toward them, squinting against the glare of the sun. "It _does _look like ole' Balthy now, don't it, men?" he said, looking at them. "Hum, and he's got a lady with rabbity ears with 'im." Balthier opened his mouth.

"Wait, don't say it. I know how to deal with you. 'It's Balthier.'" Balthier blinked when Jack kept talking. "I know him, don't I, men? Ah, but don't you see? It can't really be Balthy. He blew himself up years an' years an' years ago. He's not really here!" Jack spun, aiming a pistol at him. Balthier dodged the bullet.

"Jack, it's only been a few months!" he shouted, but Jack reloaded his pistol, firing again.

"Fran, why is it that all the people I am being reunited with have a tendency to want shoot me straight off?" he asked. Fran gave him the ghost of a smile.

"At least you cannot die from it." she replied. Balthier tackled Jack to the ground, wrenching the pistol from his grasp. The man fought like a wild animal, shouting.

"Help! I'm being attacked by a figment of me own imagination!"

"Fran, I could use some help here!" Balthier gritted, trying to hold the struggling pirate down. Fran attempted to cast Esuna, to calm Jack's mind and remove the possible confusion he had from staying in the strange magic encompassing Davy Jones' Locker, but Jack flipped over, and Balthier was thrust in the way of the White Magick. He gave an animalistic squall of pain as the spell contacted with him, arching his back against the burn that made his skin smoke. He collapsed back to the deck, shuddering. Fran was at his side in an instant, forcing a potion bottle between his teeth and tilting his head back. When Balthier refused to drink, she pinched his nose shut, even though she knew he didn't need to breath, but he swallowed reflexively. Balthier calmed as the pain went away and lay against her, too weak to move.

"Jack, it's me." he rasped hoarsely. Jack stood, staring at him.

"Prove it!" the pirate yelled, panic in his eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" Balthier asked, still breathing hard.

"Do something only Balthier can do! Prove that you're not part of my imagination! You told me that you were the only person I'd meet who could do Magick, and yet this woman does it too!" Jack shouted.

Balthier closed his eyes. "Oh, shoot me!" he groaned. Jack cocked his pistol.

"I'm only too happy to oblige, mate."

The gunshot echoed in the sands. Balthier glared at him, smoke rising from the bullet hole in his throat.

"It's a figure of speech, you idiot!" Balthier sneered, his voice strange and wheezy because of the hole in his windpipe. "Does that prove anything to you?"

"Actually, it doesn't." Jack said apologetically. "I shot Mr. Sparrow here yesterday, but he's still as right as rain." he pated an invisible crewman on the back. Balthier buried his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes vigorously.

"You are hopeless. Hopeless!" he growled, climbing to his feet. "Fran, come on. Let's get this ship ready to make way."

* * *

Fran knew enough about ships to know that she had to help Balthier open the sails. She climbed sure footed through the rigging, even as Jack ran below shouting.

"What are you doing? It's the doldrums! What good will opening the sails do?" he cried.

"What is the plan, Balthier?" she asked, ignoring the pirate. Balthier rubbed his chin.

"I was thinking that if we cast Aeroga at the same time, we might generate enough wind to move the ship." he mumbled.

Fran stared. "_That _is your plan? It sounds foolish!" she exclaimed. She would have shouted, but Fran never shouts.

"I know, but unless you have another idea, that seems to be the only way."

"Very well, we can try your plan." Fran sighed. Balthier could be such a dreamer sometimes, but sometimes those plans of his really worked.

They stood behind the ship together, readying their spell. Jack stared back at them, peeking over the poop deck railings.

"Now!" Balthier said, casting the spell with a will. The sails billowed, and the_ Black Pearl _creaked, but nothing happened.

"It's not working." Fran deadpanned. Balthier cringed.

"One more time? Please?" he gave her his most charming smile. His sharp teeth somewhat ruined the effect.

"Very well, one more time. This is a waste of Mist." Fran said, readying the spell again. This time was different. It was as if something had descended upon them, bolstering the spell far beyond what it should have done.

A howling blast of wind filled the sails, pushing them until they strained against their tethers. With a groan, the ship began to move across the desert, leaving deep ruts behind.

"It worked!" Balthier shouted over the roar, sprinting after the ship.

"Now let us catch the ship before we are left behind!" Fran said, dashing ahead of him. Jack threw down a rope, and Fran caught a hold of it, throwing it behind her to Balthier. He pulled himself up the side of the ship, almost being blown away until Fran grabbed his hand.

"Look! It's the sea!" Fran called. The wreckage of the _Hai Peng _lay strewn across the beach. Here and there, people dotted the sand, salvaging what they could. They all stopped and stared as the _Black Pearl_ sailed across the land. Balthier gave them a jaunty wave, and Ragetti, the man with the wooden eye, waved back uncertainly as the ship crashed into the water.

"Boat." he said simply to Pintel, who shrugged.

Jack, Balthier, and Fran stepped ashore out of a rowboat, and the enthusiastic crew raced forward to meet them. A few hung back: Will, Elizabeth, and Barbossa.

"Captain!" Gibbs shouted ecstatically, but frowned when Jack regarded him darkly.

"Mr. Gibbs, there's been a terrible lack of discipline on my ship! Why is that?" the captain barked. Gibbs's frown deepened.

"Captain, I've not set foot on the ship since the Kraken dragged it down to the depths." he said seriously. Jack looked at the rest of the crew, confusion wrinkling his brow.

"Is that so?" he asked.

"He thinks that you are all a hallucination." Fran explained.

"Jack? We're all real. We're here to rescue you." Elizabeth said, stepping forward.

"Are you, now? That's real nice of you. Considering that, of the four of you who tried to kill me, _one _of you succeeded, Elizabeth Swann." Jack said with a smirk. She opened her mouth to say something, and looked at the men surrounding her. Will eyed her with something akin to hurt, Fran was inscrutable, and Balthier simply regarded her coldly, something akin to disgust in the way his lips were twisted. The rest of the crew stared at her with abject horror.

"I…" she licked her lips. Will turned away from her, and she closed her mouth, swallowing. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Tia Dalma!" Jack said, distracting them all. "I am_ so _glad to see you." she let him trail a hand across her jaw, giving a seductive giggle.

"What is your plan now, witty Jack?" she said. "The brethren are going to hold court. And you must attend."

"Must I, now?" Jack asked. "Well then, I'd hate to disappoint them, but I will not be going. Who are you?" he spotted Tai Huang. "Who are you with?"

"I am Tai Huang, the first mate of Captain Sao Feng, the Howling Wind." Tai Huang answered. Jack rubbed a hand in his braided beard.

"Sao Feng, huh? And where are your allegiances now?" Jack retorted.

"With the highest bidder."

"I've got a boat."

Tai Huang smiled. "That makes you the highest bidder."

"Good man. Let's be off! Look lively! Step to it!" Jack roared, but was stopped by Barbossa.

"Jack, where be you goin' with that lot of rabble?" he asked, stroking the charts in his hand. Jack the monkey screeched on his shoulder.

Fran called out to him in Vieran, gesturing with a finger. The capuchin grabbed the charts from the pirate, bounding over the sand and up her arm.

"Thank you, Jack." Balthier grinned as he took the charts from the monkey. Barbossa's face turned red.

"You _have _stolen my monkey!" he shouted. Fran shrugged.

"You now have but one choice. Stay, or sail with us. Do not fuss, Barbossa. It is out of your hands." she said. The pirate's shoulders slumped.

* * *

Yays.


	3. The Pleasant Daydream

I have finally stopped running around for a while and gotten this chapter out! When I was writing this, I was having an internal dialogue with Balthier and Tia Dalma, 'cuz I had a feeling that Fran wouldn't do what I asked. It went something like this:

Me: _Oh, my, goodness. Tia Dalma, I hate your accent._

Tia: Why?

Me: It's so freaking hard to write! Why can't you talk like a normal person like you do when you're in Balthier's dreams?

Bal: Actually that's your fault. You're the writer and you neglected to make the shadow have an accent.

Me: Oh, _yes!_ Balthier! Just the man I need! Balthier, _shoot Tia Dalma for me_ so I don't have to write another word for her.

Bal: … but how will I get un-cursed? Couldn't you just stab her yourself?

Me: Ah, I'll figure something out. I'll write a character named Bob to do it for you. Yes, I could stab her, but I can't write myself into the story for that! _Just shoot her so I don't have to write another line!_

And then I realize it's not actually going happen, and plow on with a curse on my lips and an ache in my fingers.

Thanks, **ElTangoDeRoxanne**, for being totally awesome and reviewing.

* * *

Balthier stood by Fran's side as she slept, her fingers and ears twitching at whatever dream she was having. Like him, she only seemed vulnerable in her sleep, when her face was unguarded and untroubled by the worries of the day. Suddenly she growled, and he jumped in surprise as her hand snaked out and caught him in a vice like grip around his wrist.

"Oh…" he breathed, trying to pry her fingers off, but she growled again, tightening her grip. Balthier winced, but relaxed. Fran gave a small sigh, her grip loosening, and he slid his hand out, tucking her own back near her body before going to join Pintel and Ragetti in the bow, who were fishing.

"How goes the night?" he asked. Ragetti jumped, dropping his fishing pole into the water.

"It ain't so bad. You?" Ragetti replied.

"It's okay."

"This place makes me something frightful." Ragetti said, staring into the dark water. "I keep feelin' like something's going to jump out of the water at me."

"Now you're just talkin' crazy." Pintel said. "This place is a dead zone. There ain't nothin' living 'sides us for leagues an' leagues!"

"But there's plenty of dead things." Balthier eyed the water. Ragetti gave a yelp and scrambled back from the rail. The pale outlines of people were floating by below, and the night had fallen eerily quiet.

"What _are_ those?" Pintel asked, leaning over for a better look.

"Ghosts, an' de spirits of de departed." Tia Dalma said from behind them. Balthier grabbed Pintel's jacket before the man could fall overboard from shock.

"Why are they like that?" he wondered, watching the pearly white figures drift away into the shadows. There were more and more of them, until the sea glowed with their light. Men, women, and even a few children glided by below, an occasional ghostly wail sounding in the gloom. It sent shivers down his spine.

"These souls, these poor, poor souls! Dey should be in de care of Davy Jones!" Tia Dalma said angrily. "For t'at was de duty charged to him by de sea goddess, Calypso. He had to ferry those who died at sea to de ot'er side, and den he could go to land, once every ten years, to be with de one he loved."

"But he broke his promise." Balthier finished quietly.

"Yes. And now he is become a monster." she said, shaking her hand. "Dat is de fate t'at awaits you should you fail."

Balthier glanced back at Fran, who was waking up. "I'd best not fail, then."

Tia Dalma continued to look over the water. Boats were appearing out of the fog, their lanterns like fireflies in the mist.

"More of the dead come." Fran said, climbing the stairs. "It does not seem as if they see us."

"We are nothing but ghosts to them. It is best to let them be." Tia Dalma explained. "The dead do not come unless called."

Suddenly, they heard Elizabeth scream.

"Father!" she raced to the edge of the boat. "We've made it back! Father! Over here!"

Jack stared over her shoulder at the visage of Governor Swann, who stared straight ahead, unwavering. Balthier groaned under his breath.

"Ah, Fran, that's the fellow whose wallet I stole… him being here can only mean one thing…"

"He is dead then." Fran said quietly.

"Father!" Elizabeth continued to call. Governor Swann frowned, before looking at her in puzzlement.

"Elizabeth and… you cutpurse thief! Are you dead?" the Governor asked. Balthier winced; the man had good memory. Apparently, because of his tenuous position between life and death, Balthier was quite visible to the ghosts.

"No, I'm not, and he's not really." Elizabeth shook her head.

"Is he not, now? Pity." his face turned sad. "I think I am." Elizabeth's eyes were filling, and she ran along the boat to keep him in view.

"No. I… you… you can't be. We're coming back, we've made it back! You aren't dead." Jack put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to come her.

"We aren't back yet, love." he murmured sorrowfully. In his boat, Governor Swann was still talking.

"There was a chest. It's odd… it seemed so important. Silly isn't it?"

"Come back with us!" Elizabeth called desperately.

"You understand something of treasure, don't you, thief?" the Governor addressed Balthier. "A heart is not considered treasure, save to one creature. Yet in the chest it lie, beating. Should you stab the heart, yours must take its place, and you will sail the seas for eternity, bound to the earth and unable to die. The _Dutchman _must have a captain."

Tia Dalma came to stand next to Will. "It was not a coincidence that he told you this. Perhaps… a touch of destiny." Will narrowed his eyes.

"You still have a chance to return! You don't have to die! Someone cast a line!" Elizabeth shrieked. Marty handed her a length of rope, and she cast it across the brink, landing right in the smaller boat. "Take the line, please!"

"I… I'm so proud of you, Elizabeth." Governor Swann said, a tear rolling down his face.

"_No!_" Elizabeth's voice rose shrilly and she made to plunge into the water. "I won't let you go! I won't leave you!"

"She must not leave the ship, otherwise she will join them!" Tia Dalma snapped. In an instant, Fran was at Elizabeth's side, gripping her with strong arms and pulling her close.

"He is at peace." Fran said quietly. "For that, you may be glad. Those who die with vengeance in their hearts return corrupt, mindlessly seeking retribution until they forget their true purpose for returning. That is not a fate that awaits him." she met Balthier's eyes over Elizabeth's head. He quirked an eyebrow, shrugging. He knew what she was trying to tell him.

He didn't want it to be true to think that he was losing himself, even as he shut his eyes against a wave of hunger. They seemed to come more and more often.

"Even if you forget others, you must never forget yourself." Fran said aloud, but whether it was to Elizabeth, who had been inches from joining the ranks of the dead, or Balthier, who already stood half over the line, no one was sure.

* * *

The _Black Pearl_ bobbed up and down on the waves, her crew strewn about the deck. Heat warped the air into sizzling waves itself, and men groaned, stricken by thirst and hunger.

Pintel tipped an empty gourd up, licking the rim. "Why is there nothing but rum left?" he asked tiredly. Gibbs put a bottle on the deck, shaking his head.

"Nay, not even the rum is left." he groaned.

Fran sat beside Balthier, back to back so that her hair tumbled over his shoulder like a rich white scarf.

"It seems our positions are reversed. Now you lean against me for my body heat— or rather, lack thereof." he said, taking a lock of her hair and sniffing it, and eyeing Ragetti, who sidled up next to him.

"What do you want?" Balthier asked suspiciously.

"Well, you said you're cold, right? You don't got no body heat, because you're well… dead, I guess. Well, I was wondering if—"

"By the gods, _NO!_" Balthier cut him off, horrified. "I can see where this is going, Mr. Ragetti, and as I said, _no_."

"At least one of us is energetic." Will sighed, watching Balthier's attempt to ward off the desperate pirate. "But then again, he's not affected by the need to eat and drink, and likely not by the heat, either."

"If we do not find a way back by night, we will be doomed to wander the reach between worlds, forever." Tia Dalma said glumly. She had forsaken her shawl and wandered around in nothing but her thin, ragged dress.

Gibbs leaned on the rail next to Tia Dalma. "We need water, else 'forever' will be coming sooner than you think."

"I wonder, if we kept sailing across this sea, would we reach Ivalice eventually?" Fran asked Balthier.

"Perhaps." Balthier answered. "I don't know. Maybe we would eventually reach another world entirely. When all this is over, I should like to try flying here. We'll just pick a corner of the map with nothing in it and go there."

"You're mad." Fran replied.

"But you would still follow me." Balthier replied smugly.

"That I would."

They were interrupted when Jack suddenly said loudly, "_Up is down._" Balthier frowned at him.

"I beg your pardon?" Jack looked at him, throwing his hands up.

"Yes, up is down. That is increasingly unhelpful. These stupid maps are never clear." he said. Fran got up to look over the map, spinning the outside dial with a long finger.

"Up is down…" she mused, watching the fierce image of a Chinese dragon appear to chase a red tiger around the edge of the chart. She moved to spin the next smaller dial, repeating it five times until she reached the center spot, an image of a Junk on the high seas. Fran smiled. "Did you not think that the middle could spin as well?" she asked Jack, and rotated the panel.

The Junk was upside down. "Up is down!" Jack shouted, leaping to his feet. Balthier looked at the image on the map.

"Fran, you are a genius." he said. "Now, to turn the _Black Pearl_ upside down…"

"What's that?" Jack cried, dashing to the edge of the ship. "What _is _that?"

"Are you crazy? There's nothing there!" Balthier stalked after him, but spun on his heel when Jack ran to the other side of the ship. Fran watched as Balthier chased Jack back and forth across the deck, more and more crewmembers joining in. Suddenly, it dawned on her.

"Bal!" She called out to him. "Take out a potion bottle and hold it still. Watch the liquid." she instructed. Balthier stopped and danced out of the way to avoid getting run over by a squawking Jack. He stared at the green liquid swishing back and forth in the vial, almost as if it were being rocked. That was strange, he was holding it still…

_Rocked._

"He's rocking the ship!" Balthier called out, confirming Fran's suspicions. Barbossa examined the charts, taking in the image of the upside down Junk.

"He's figured it out, lads! Go to it, with a will!" Barbossa shouted as Will came on deck.

"We have a Will," Balthier sniggered, charging across the deck. The boat creaked as canons worked their way free below deck, crashing back and forth. Fran was among the best of them, easily crossing the deck with her long stride until she reached the other side.

"Go, go, go!" Jack whooped, lunging for the rail, but wincing as a crunch sounded below deck. "My poor ship!"

Eventually, it became not so much of a "run" up the deck as a "scale" the deck, and they clung to the railing, feet dangling. The _Black Pearl _listed as weight piled up in her sides, and with a huge splash, began to turn upside down. Anything not fastened down began to sink to the ocean floor below, including crewmen whose grips were not strong enough.

The underwater world was strange and dark, with only the smallest amount of sunlight piercing the darkness. It was a veritable no man's land, the only thing breaking the monotony of wavering blue light the occasional bubble from who-knows-where. And it was quiet; only the irregular creak of the ship broke the silence.

Nothing happened for the longest of time, and Balthier suddenly found he was thankful for the fact that he only breathed through force of habit— he didn't have to, really. The others must be getting frantic by now. Will slipped from the rail, falling toward the depths, and his eyes were wide as he desperately swam back toward the _Black Pearl_. Elizabeth held her hand out, trying to reach him, a flurry of bubbles escaping her lips.

Suddenly she frowned. The darkness below was getting brighter, and appeared to be rushing toward them, bubbles racing _down_ toward the light.

With a rush of spray and crash, the _Black Pearl_ broke the surface, leaping above the ocean waves before settling back with another splash, water pouring from her sides. Men lay across the deck, coughing or vomiting more salty water onto the wood.

Fran struggled to her feet, her hair an extremely heavy burden as she fought to keep her head from rolling back under its weight. While her long, snow white hair was one of her most attractive features, it was not the most practical. However, it was her _only_ vanity, and she would not let anyone near it with scissors, not even Balthier (not that the sky pirate had ever tried). The said sky pirate was, in fact, helping her manage the mess it had become. Fran pulled off her waterlogged helm, wrinkling her nose slightly when a sludgy mess of green seaweed slithered out. Balthier wrung her hair like a rag, a waterfall drenching his already saturated pants and shoes. The thin white veil that covered Fran's stomach was now plastered against her body, almost invisible, to the delight of many of the pirates on the vessel (when they had recovered from near drowning).

"Shove off!" Balthier barked at a few nearby sailors who had whistled appreciatively, before returning to the treatment of his partner. Will watched them somewhat enviously; Balthier displayed a clumsy tenderness to Fran that no one would have thought the sky pirate was capable of. He tangled a hand in Fran's several feet of curls and cursed amiably, while Fran herself laughed faintly and grimaced at the same time when he began the task of removing his fingers from the jungle of hair wrapped around them. The sight was interesting, to say in the least; no one would have ever thought that the leading man, who was usually so graceful and elegant with his motions, and polished and silver-tongued with his words, could be so inept at displaying raw, physical affection.

Will wondered if he could ever be so open with Elizabeth. If she would ever _let _him be open with her, after the betrayal she had put him through. His mind wandered back to when they had still been trapped in Davy Jones' Locker.

* * *

"You left him to the Kraken." _Will said quietly._

"It was the only way. And now he's back. It's okay now." _Elizabeth replied brokenly. Will frowned._

"You don't understand. Why didn't you tell me?" _She shook her head mutely in response, pressing her fingers to her lips as tears rolled down her face._

"It wasn't your burden to bear." _she whispered, almost inaudibly._

"But I bore it. I just… I couldn't… I never knew what it was. I thought…" _Will pressed her against a pole below deck, blocking her way to freedom with his arm. He couldn't explain why so much anger and hatred was coursing through his veins, making his heart beat fast and his skin crawl._

"You thought I loved him!" _Elizabeth accused. _"How could you?" _She pushed past his arm, knocking it brusquely out of the way, and vanished above deck. Will stared at his own hands, pressing them against his eyes._

"I don't understand…" _he whispered into the emptiness and the molten red light behind his eyes. _"Why can't she trust me like she used to?" _But in his heart, he knew._

_Naïve… she's not naïve anymore. Her innocence was lost like fog burned by a harsh sun._

"Damn pirates." _They stole whatever they could, whenever they could._

_They stole Elizabeth's innocence. _

* * *

They were distracted when Barbossa smiled faintly at the rising sun, before whirling and aiming his pistol at Jack. With a click, Gibbs, Jack, Elizabeth, and Will followed, until a circle of pistols had been formed. Balthier coolly pulled Fomalhaut from the strap on his back, covering Barbossa's head, while Fran aimed her arrow at Will. Whoever got hit by Fomalhaut would certainly die— no questions asked— as their insides were blown onto the deck, becoming outsides.

The group of pirates stared each other down for a moment, taking in the stalemate, before laughing all together and lowering their guns.

"But really…" Barbossa said, and they all raised their weapons again. "The pirate court will be a-meeting at Shipwreck Cove, and Jack, you and I are a-going."

"Sorry, but at a gathering of pirates, count me out." Jack replied. "If there's pirates a-gathering, I'm going the other way."

Elizabeth's lip curled. "Coward. The pirates are gathering to fight Beckett, and you're a pirate." She pointed both her pistols at Jack. Balthier, though he hated himself for it, moved to cover Elizabeth with Fomalhaut's sights. His duty was to somehow free a shadow in his mind, a shadow that turned out to be Tia Dalma, and Jack was required, else they would not have needed to get him back from the Locker. Sadly, Elizabeth was not required. She was simply another supporting character in this little drama.

"If we don't gather our forces to fight, they'll hunt us down one by one, and there'll be none left but you." Barbossa said scathingly. Jack was not fazed.

"Ah, I like that. Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate." he smiled. Balthier decided to speak up.

"How long can you run, Jack, before reality catches up to you and shatters your pleasant daydream?" he called. The pistol pointing pirates seemed to just realize the threat he posed with his gun, and pointed their guns at him— though upon remembering he couldn't be killed, many aimed for Fran, who tensed.

"Get those away from her, I won't shoot unless someone forces my hand." Balthier sneered. "Jack, I became a sky pirate so I could run: and I ran for years and years, until finally, it all came full circle, and I realized I'd gotten nowhere. And you won't get anywhere until you cut your ties to the past. I think you have quite a few of those, hmm?" his gaze lingered on the brand on Jack's wrist. Jack glared at him.

"You're supposed to support me, Balthy." he growled. Balthier cocked his head.

"Must I remind you of my little speech on the island all those months ago? I'm doing all this for my benefit, and you running from the court is not to my benefit." he said.

"Quite right. Therefore, I'll only go to the court on one condition." Jack pointed his pistol at Barbossa's forehead. "With you dead." he pulled the trigger, and the hammer clicked. Barbossa twitched as he was hit by a jet of water from the barrel. He frowned, pulling his own, but the result was the same. The deck was filled with clicking pistols, and finally Gibbs tucked his pistols away with an exasperated sigh.

"Wet powder." he said matter-of-factly. They all hit the deck when the explosive report of Fomalhaut rent the air.

"Mine's not." Balthier scoffed, mentally glad that guns in Ivalice were enchanted to be waterproof (running through the Giza rains had taught him that). "And Fran doesn't care about wet shot. I could continue this game of threats, but it would only be a matter of time until you gang up us and take Fran hostage." he slung the gun back into its holster, and Fran replaced the arrow in her quiver. "You're going to the Pirate Court, Jack. Count on it."

* * *

Will unrolled the map, and everyone crowded around him. "There is a fresh water spring on this island. We can resupply there, and settle our differences later." he said bitterly.

"You go ashore, William, Hector, and leave my ship in my command." Jack said quickly.

"Nay, I'll not be leaving _my_ ship in your hands." Barbossa retorted. Will took a deep breathe.

"How about you _both_ go ashore, and leave the ship in _my_ command?" he asked. When both pirate captains glared at him, he shrugged. "Temporarily." he finished.

"I've not done anything untrustworthy, unlike you lot, so why don't you leave the ship in my command?" Balthier asked.

"Can you even sail?" Barbossa asked.

"I don't need to, do I? I'm just supervising. I'm a Captain just like the rest of you." he replied. Fran shot him down.

"You're the captain of a three man crew, including Nono, you being one of the three." she said. Balthier rolled his eyes.

"For a while it was a seven man crew, including my dear moogle mechanic." he pouted.

In the end, Jack and Barbossa ended up going ashore, with Will and Balthier left onboard to balance each other out.

Balthier leaned on the railing of the _Black Pearl_, Fran at his side, as usual.

"There is treachery in the air. I could cut it with a knife." Fran said quietly. Balthier glanced toward Will surreptitiously.

"Is there, now? I have the feeling that our friend William Turner is going to be at the bottom of it." he replied. "He's given off the feeling of a slimy git for quite some time now."

"What was he like before you left?" Fran asked. Balthier squinted at the island, trying to pick out the shore party.

"Well… he had a sense of honor enough to rival the good Captain, Basch. Well, not Basch now. Judge Magister Gabranth, I suppose."

"Elizabeth's betrayal has cut him deeply, for him to change so much." Fran said quietly.

Suddenly, Will came up behind them. "Fran, Balthier? I have something to ask you two." he said. Balthier looked at Fran, saw the warning in her eyes. He did not know why, but his gut was currently telling him not to trust Will. In fact, he was also willing to believe it wanted him to eat Will, but that would most likely not sit well with Elizabeth.

"What is it?" Balthier asked.

"I'm sorry." Will said, before one of the Chinese crewmen approached them from behind and felled them with deft strikes to the backs of their heads. Both Balthier and Fran slumped to the deck, and not taking any precautions, they were bound and their weapons confiscated.

* * *

Sao Feng, the Howling Wind, himself arrived shortly afterward, a smug grin on his face as he took in the sight of Balthier and Fran out for the count, and the shore party being shepherded with guns and cutlasses at their backs. When Jack climbed aboard and saw them, his first impulse was to hide behind the more threatening build of Hector Barbossa, but Sao Feng already had seen him.

"Ah, Jack Sparrow. You paid me great insult once." the Asian pirate drawled. Jack laughed nervously.

"That doesn't sound like me. It was my twin, twice removed from my mother's side and—" Sao Feng cut him off with a punch to the nose. Jack groaned, doubling over, as his nose crunched.

Suddenly, Will pushed through the crowd. "Release Elizabeth. She's not part of the bargain." he commanded. Barbossa narrowed his eyes as he saw Balthier and Fran bound against a support beam, a ring of guards surrounding them. Both had a gag pushed between their teeth as a precaution against their powerful Magick, and their hands were lashed together.

"What bargain be that, greenhorn?" Barbossa asked. Sao Feng raised an eyebrow cruelly.

"You heard _Captain_ Turner! Release her!"

"Captain?" the murmur spread through the crowd as Elizabeth was pushed forward.

"I need the _Pearl_ to free my father." Will said to Jack. "I only came on the voyage for that reason alone." Elizabeth stormed up to him.

"Why didn't you tell me this?" she asked. Will refused to look at her.

"It was my burden to bear." he said shortly, looking over her shoulder at Sao Feng, who nodded.

At the beam they were tied to, Balthier slowly came to his senses, blinking dazedly and taking in his surroundings. When he saw Will, unable to say anything, though expletives that would have made the pirates in Balfonheim look like Archadian nobles ran through his head, he growled. Jack looked at him pityingly.

"You need my ship, Will. You're guilty, Elizabeth. You want me to go to the Brethren Court, Hector. And you're cursed and have therefore tagged along for your benefit." Jack referred the last sentence to Balthier, who rolled his eyes expressively. "Did no one come just because they missed me?"

Immediately, his old crew raised their hands. "I'll go with them, thanks." Jack said, moving over to stand with them. Coincidentally, he stood nearby Balthier. _Save me,_ he mouthed at the sky pirate. Balthier rolled his eyes again and tossed his head. As if he could do anything. Sao Feng caught up to Jack and grabbed him firmly.

"An old friend wants to see you first." the scarred captain said. Jack whimpered.

"I don't think I can survive many more visits with old friends." he spotted the white sails of the East India Trading Company on the horizon. "Particularly those old friends."

Jack was bodily thrown into a boat and borne to the _HMS Endeavour_. In the meantime, Sao Feng confronted Mercer, Beckett's henchmen, angrily as Company men streamed onboard. "My own men are crew enough." he snarled.

"Company ship, company crew." Mercer replied nonchalantly. "What are those two about?" he nodded to Balthier and Fran, both now conscious and treating Will to stares. If looks could kill, Will would be nothing but ash in the wind.

"Prisoners. Be weary of that one." Sao Feng walked over and kicked Balthier in the gut. The sky pirate gave an agonized wheeze through his gag, but refrained from making any other sounds, instead glaring defiantly at his torturer. "He's undead."

As proof, Sao Feng grabbed a scimitar from one of his crewmen and stabbed Balthier twice, first in the heart, then in the throat. Balthier twitched as if he could defend himself, straining against the rope as his eyes flashed dangerously. Fran grabbed his hand in her own, as luckily their hands had been tied together, and squeezed. At her touch, he relaxed, but continued to treat Sao Feng and Mercer to a death glare. Mercer smiled wickedly.

"We have just the place for his ilk." he said, as the _Flying Dutchman _cleared the waves.

* * *

Dun-dun-DUN! Done. Okay. Please Review!


	4. Breakdown

YES! I FINALLY UPDATED! Thanks to **ElTangoDeRoxanne**, who I totally agree with (Will made me really made too. And I had just started to like him!). I'm glad you like the way my dialogue goes, **Shay Weaver**. I always feel kinda bad because it's not original. Oh well, the sequel to this will be original ; ). What the plot is? Not telling. Not yet. And last but not least, I'm glad you like that Balthier is taking care of his little hunger for brains, **dongaro**. I hoped people were fine with a partially insane, monstrous, Balthier. This chapter was originally half as action packed, but when I read your review, I thought, you know what? You are absolutely right. This is _pale_ as far as action is concerned. So I wrote about an extra page of action.

Thank you all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or Final Fantasy XII.

* * *

Mercer's crewmen untied Balthier, using the ropes around his wrists to lead him away. Balthier was seized with panic, and commenced to do his best to chew through his gag. He was pleasantly surprised when his teeth, sharpened by his "transformation", easily sliced through the cloth. Spitting it out onto the ground, he lunged for his captors, snarling like a feral beast, but stopped short when Mercer grabbed Fran, who was still bound to the beam, pulling her chin up and holding a small silver dagger to her throat.

"I suspected this would happen. Right, make any hostile move and she dies." Mercer said with a smirk. Balthier frantically went through all the possible ways he could save her. His first mistake had been to leave her side and allow Mercer to get in that position. Then, he wondered if he could possibly cast a spell— any spell— that might make his situation better. He could not; the moment he prepared the spell, Mercer would slit her throat. And from this distance, Mercer would be infinitely faster. Fran wriggled her head slightly, the gag loosening enough to slide from her mouth.

"_Balthier, do not worry._" Fran said in Vieran. "_Go. I promise I will find you, and then we will both make them pay for their mistakes._"

"_Very well._" Balthier replied, his shoulders sagging. "_Then promise me this: that you will stay alive until that time_."

"_I promise. Do not lose yourself._"

"_That will be a hard undertaking, but I shall try._" Balthier gave a bow as only he could, though it was made a little awkward because of his bound hands, and gave a smile accompanied with a merry wave as he was led onto the _Flying Dutchman_.

Fran knew he was trying his hardest to be lighthearted. It pained her to see him taken away onto that ship; the promise he'd made not to lose himself was empty. She knew that without her, Balthier had nothing to keep him to his humanity; though the thought may be enough to make him persevere for a while. However, if the looks of crew on the _Dutchman_ were any indicator, he would be hard pressed to stay sane.

* * *

People who were half fish, half human crowded around him, jeering and hooting. As the _Dutchman_ began to move away, a creature who looked to be a crab of some sort grabbed the rope that bound Balthier's hands and dragged him toward a cabin everyone seemed to be staying clear of. Inside, a pipe organ boomed, and the crab-man knocked on the door with a grey-green hand. The organ music stopped abruptly, and a light footstep, accompanied by a resounding thud, sounded from within. The door was wrenched open, and Balthier stared into one of the most horrendous faces he'd ever seen.

This man appeared to have an octopus for his head, with wet eyes deep in an equally wet face. The tentacles formed a living beard, curling and flexing. Balthier had heard of this… man.

Davy Jones.

"What is this living scum doing on my ship, Penrod?" the captain of the _Flying Dutchman_ snarled.

"It's another one of those cursed pirates, like old Bootstrap Bill was." Balthier's escort replied.

"Is it now?" Jones leered at him and grabbed his throat with a horned crab claw, staring into his face. "Wot is your name, pirate, and where be your ship?"

"I'm Captain Balthier of the _Strahl_. It's… not here." Balthier grunted through his constricted windpipe.

"A pirate Captain without a ship." Jones scoffed. "You remind me of that sniveling sea rat, wot's-his-name… Jack Sparrow. Know him?"

Balthier's breathe hitched as the claw about his neck tightened, the horns on it piercing his skin. Blood stained his white shirt collar red.

"I know him." he rasped. "I was with him until Beckett's goons dumped me here." The name "Beckett" seemed to enrage Davy Jones, and for a moment, Balthier was afraid the seaman would sever his head clean off when his claw tightened even more.

"Beckett. Beckett! The nerve of that pile of bilge sludge!" Davy Jones snarled, spittle spraying from his lips. "Well then, welcome aboard the _Dutchman_, Captain Balthier. Throw him in the brig, with the other one!" Davy Jones turned on his peg leg and slammed his cabin door shut. Penrod, the lobster-like crewman who was holding onto Balthier's rope, chuckled as he dragged the sky pirate away, down into the depths of the ship.

More nightmarish faces loomed in the dark holes of the _Flying Dutchman_. The oblong head of a hammerhead shark and the puffed up face of a blowfish pushed their way forward.

"New pirate scum." Penrod prodded Balthier forward toward a set of barnacle encrusted cells. "Captain wants him in the brig right away, and in with ole Bootstrap Bill."

_Bootstrap Bill_? Balthier perked up. Wasn't that Will's father? The one that Will needed the _Black Pearl _for? He frowned as he was shoved into a seemingly empty cell. Perhaps he could gain some valuable leverage here…

Or not. Balthier stared at the tragic face of a creature that looked like it could have been human that seemed to be fused to the wall. His face, shoulders, and chest were coated with sea flora and fauna, almost completely sealing him against the ship's walls. Balthier cautiously inched forward, his hands clenching into fists in case the meeting turned hostile. There was something morbidly fascinating about this figure sleeping the sleep of the dead, slowly becoming a part of the ship, building it up one body at a time.

"Bootstrap Bill?" Balthier whispered. There was no response. The body didn't even twitch. "William Turner Senior?" he tried again, louder this time. Suddenly, the man fused with the wall jerked awake, focusing watery eyes dancing with strange light on the sky pirate before him.

"You know me?" he asked, leaning forward with a creak as he began to rip himself free of the walls binding him. "You know my name! My _real _name." Balthier backed up, struggling to keep the revulsion from his face. Bootstrap Bill's face was riddled with barnacles like pockmarks, and mussels, corals, and sponges decked his clothing like exotic ornaments.

"Yes. I flew— I mean, sailed— with your son, William Junior." Balthier said, watching as Bootstrap rose from his seat. He was tall, even taller than Balthier by a few inches.

"You know… William? He's… he's alive? I thought… I thought the kraken done him in…" Bootstrap gasped, grabbing Balthier's shoulders and rubbing sea grime on his shirt in the process.

"Yes, he is alive and quite well." the sky pirate found he didn't quite have the heart to tell William Senior that his son turned out to be a back stabbing thieving cur. "He's coming to get you, and he's got the _Pearl_." he said instead.

"He got the _Black Pearl_ off Jack? How? Jack wouldn't a-givin' up that ship for nothin'." Bill muttered.

"It is an interesting story, for sure. But that is for another time. Please don't bother me for the details." Balthier cut off any questions with a wave of his bound hands. "Now, how to get these off…"

He cast about for any sharp implements that could be used to sever the thick rope, but ended up resorting to his teeth, alternately gnawing and sawing at the bristly strands. When the rope finally parted, he stretched his jaw, picking out fibers with his fingernail. His mouth tasted as if he'd been licking a salt-encrusted chocobo that had just finished having a mud bath. Needless to say, it was disgusting, and he spat on the floor.

"You ain't gonna last." Bootstrap Bill said, watching him with interest born of loneliness. Obviously the poor man had no kind company onboard the ship. "They don't cater to your kind on this boat. You livin' kind, at any rate."

"Just so you know, I'm in the same boat as you, pardon the pun." Balthier said, sitting down in the least damp place he could find. "I, too, have been cursed by the treasure of Isla de Muerta, and am therefore unable to die."

"Isla de Muerta!" Bill gaped. "You're one o' them! One o' Barbossa's!" he charged, the light in his eyes spilling over into hate. Balthier dodged, sliding behind a pole and trying to think of a way to stop the rampaging pirate.

"I'm not part of that crew!" he cried, as Bootstrap Bill reached around the pole in an attempt to grab him. Quick as a snake, Balthier twisted out of his grip, sliding on the wet floor. "I didn't _ask _to be cursed the first time!" The other man was beyond comprehension.

"_Traitor!_" he howled, curling a hand into a fist. For a man who was supposed to be part of a ship, and therefore inanimate, Bootstrap Bill Turner was surprisingly fast. His fist connected solidly and sickeningly in Balthier's gut, and the sky pirate keeled over, vomiting a copious amount of blood onto the deck.

"Ugh…" he groaned, rolling over and out of the way of a kick from William Senior. Balthier managed to drag himself to his feet, coughing. He could almost feel his insides knitting themselves back together after their beating, and he wiped the blood from his chin with a handkerchief, backing out of the way of Bootstrap Bill's wild swings.

"Let me alone," Balthier grit out, flinging a Sleep spell at the pirate in an attempt to calm the other man's rage. To his horror, the spell simply rolled off of him, Bill's anger too great for the spell to override. Balthier gave a pained grunt as Bootstrap Bill crashed against him, pinning him against the cell wall.

"I don' care that you're dead." Bootstrap Bill growled, squeezing a hand around Balthier's neck. "I'll kill you, and when you come back, I'll kill you again, over and over until you curse the day you went under Barbossa's wing."

"I… didn't… ask for this!" Balthier wheezed, choking. The pirate pressed him against the cell wall even harder, rocking back then slamming his head against the wall.

"_Liar!_" Balthier heard him roar as his vision swam sickeningly. His fingers scrabbled for purchase on Bootstrap Bill's slick skin, and suddenly, he found himself possessed of a strength he didn't know he had. He dragged Bill's hand away from his neck, shoving the other man away and to the ground. Something in him was singing for violence now, whereas he had tried to avoid it before. In a flash, he pinned the bigger man to the ground, reversing their positions.

"You fool." he hissed through razor edged teeth, a horrible smile dancing at the corner of his lips. Then he plunged forward, seeking the pirate's jugular.

A spray of red blinded him momentarily, burning hot against his cold, dead skin. He heard Bootstrap Bill's anguished scream of pain, and reveled in the sound. He felt alive as he pulled his glut of blood from the other man, though it tasted fishy and salty like the sea. He snarled as he was dragged off the merman by two other crewmen, struggling madly.

"We've got a wild one here." One of Bootstrap Bill's rescuers laughed as he chained both of Balthier's wrists to the wall with metal shackles. Balthier's chest heaved as he strained against his new bonds, glaring at them hatefully with yellow, monstrous eyes. The pirates were unperturbed, picking up Bootstrap Bill and tossing him back into his place in the wall, which accepted him with open fronds. "As soon as Bootstrap heals, they'll be back to killin' each other in no time." The sea man said, slamming the cage door shut behind him. Balthier howled with frustration.

* * *

The shadow was waiting on the bridge of stars and water, as usual. He was on his knees in front of her, his head in his hands.

"_Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades…_" Tia Dalma's voice sighed as she knelt, putting a finger under his chin and lifting his eyes to meet hers. "_I am sorry. There is nothing I can do for you now._" The shadow vanished.

Balthier put his head back into his arms and cried.

* * *

He awoke sometime later feeling absolutely miserable and very restless. Some part of him that was still sane noted that Bootstrap Bill was in the corner, glaring at him vehemently and massaging a lacerated neck. The part of him that was insane noted the wound with pride, knowing he was the cause of it.

"Hey, looky here! He's awake." A rough voice broke into his musings. Balthier heard the grinding shriek as the door was unlocked and someone entered. He cracked open an eye coming face to face with the hideous coral covered face of Jimmy Legs, the sadistic boatswain. The merman began unlocking Balthier's wrists, dragging him out of the cell. "We're raiding a ship, and captain wants all hands for it. Even yours. Technically, yer part o' the crew now." he continued. Balthier heard the boom of cannons directly over his head, followed by the rip of wood on a ship nearby. Excitement rippled through his veins.

The noise on deck was deafening, a cacophony of snapping wood, crashing cannons, cracking guns, and clanging swords. Jimmy Legs shoved him onto the gang plank, forcing him across to board the other ship. Balthier stumbled over the yawning gap, water churning below as shrapnel and bodies fell into the drink. Chinese men ran across the deck of Sao Feng's ship, the _Empress_, screaming battle cries that were silenced as, with their own savage yells, Davy Jones's crew dispatched them with brutal efficiency.

Sword raised, one of the men tried to attack him. Balthier caught the man's sword hand, disarmed him, and simultaneously kneed him in the groin. With a muted squeal, the man collapsed to the deck, clutching his manhood. Balthier swiftly put him out of his misery, his mouth twitching into a savage smile of pure delight as blood splashed across his shoes, and moved onto the next victim. His world was bathed in blood and flashing light, water and cool darkness. He was drunk on death and hated the living with a vengeance. The tiny part of _him_ as he truly was had been shoved to the back of his mind, locked in a prison made of jealousy and rage against all others who walked under sun and moon alike. Another man made to attack, and this time, Balthier blocked it with his filched sword, before lunging forward and ripping a strip out of the man's arm with his teeth. The man screamed before he was beheaded, his woven straw hat rolling across the deck.

Balthier laughed wildly, chasing down another pirate like a Couerl bringing down its prey, lunging forward to skewer him on the blade. When the pirate suddenly turned and blocked, he was surprised by the sudden show of bravado, and even more surprised when the pirate stuck out a booted foot and tripped him, using her sword to pin him to the deck by shoving it between his ribs and into his chest. He snarled at her, the moonlight blinding him to the face of his assailant. The figure whispered something he couldn't comprehend.

"Oh my God… Balthier?" the voice asked, but he was beyond words to answer with. He couldn't even begin to think of what words were, anyway. He slid his fingers up the blade, listening to the hollow ring his bones made as it ran over the curved steel. He had almost forgotten what it was like to be bathed in the light of the moon, his true form laid bare for all the world to see. And what did he care of it? Those who saw this shape would be dead soon, anyway. He jerked the sword from his chest, wrenching it out of the wood, and attacked, the figure retreating just out of his reach.

"It is you, isn't it, Balthier." Elizabeth Swann whispered as the monster came closer, yellow eyes flashing, bones clicking, a feral scream rising and falling in a brutal war song from its throat. She jumped out of the way of a lightning quick sword strike, and Balthier, or the creature that had been Balthier, hissed in annoyance. "I'm sorry," she murmured, as she drew a pistol from within the folds of her dress. "It's the only way I know how to stop you." She allowed him to get close, the two blades he now wielded whistling dangerously near to her body, pressed the pistol to the smooth bone of his forehead, and pulled the trigger.

Balthier's head jerked back, his eyes dimming and losing their killer focus as he collapsed to the deck limply, the bones of his skull shattered. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, he fell into the shade of the Junk's mast, and she stared into the now familiar face of the sky pirate she knew. His eyes were still yellow, a beast staring out of them instead of a human mind, and his mouth was slightly agape as he stared vacantly to the moonlit sky. Elizabeth choked on a sob, tears dripping down her chin.

The battle was over all too soon when James Norrington stepped onto the deck. Without thinking, Elizabeth ran to him. "James!" she cried, then paused looking back at the figure of Balthier, who seemed to be reviving slowly, the skin on his forehead knitting it self back together. She watched as another merman dragged him back onto the _Flying Dutchman_, tying his hands together and pushing him below deck.

"Elizabeth? Thank goodness! Your father will be so glad to hear you are safe." Admiral Norrington began, but Elizabeth turned cold eyes on him.

"My father is dead." she said flatly.

"No… no! He- he returned to England, he can't—!"

"Who told you that? Beckett?" Elizabeth's lip curled with disdain. "Now you know what side you chose." she was interrupted by Davy Jones's angry yell calling for the captain, a job entrusted to her by the late Sao Feng, the Howling Wind. "And I know mine. The Captain stays with the crew." she said, moving to stand with Tai Huang. Davy Jones's eyes gleamed fiendishly.

"Captain, aye?" the merman leered, but snarled with disgust when Norrington said,

"But the prisoners in the brig and tow the ship. That's an order!"

"Bah!" Davy Jones spat, marching away.

* * *

Balthier drifted in a place halfway between dreaming and awakening, completely alone in his mind. The beast within him slept; contented with the flesh he had consumed and the havoc he'd wrecked, and now his human side walked free, outside the cage the beast shoved him in when it was awake. He felt almost back to normal, if not for the revulsion he felt at himself for his heinous acts on the _Empress_. He wanted to vomit until his stomach was empty, but feared that the beast would awaken with fury and bring him to new acts of cannibalism.

"Bootstrap?" A feminine voice suddenly brought him back. Her voice was familiar. He opened one eye languidly, observing his new company like a lazy cat would a mouse wandering across the kitchen floor. The monster within him stirred, also watching.

The survivors of the attack on Sao Feng's ship had all been bundled into the same cell with him, and Elizabeth Swann herself now pressed herself against barnacled bars, trying to find out which of the pirates she looked at was Bootstrap Bill Turner. "Bootstrap!" she shouted again, this time directing her attention at the blowfish faced man.

"_Bootstrap."_ the voice resonated deeply. Elizabeth froze, slowly turning toward the sound. The old pirate had raised himself from his sleep in the ship's wall at his name, looking at her with his over-bright eyes. Balthier felt hatred rush through his veins like poison at the sight of the piece of sea scum. Their brawl was still fresh in the more primal side of his mind. "You know my name?" the conversation was eerily like the one he had with Balthier, before he had attacked him.

"I know your son," Elizabeth was saying, and Bootstrap looked confused.

"William! He's alive! But I knew that already… but here you are, come to tell me he's gonna rescue me!" Bootstrap said suddenly, laughing. "I heard he has the _Pearl_! God's wounds, he's gonna do it!" Elizabeth had a look of horror on her face at the sight of the haggard pirate coming toward her. Balthier closed his eye again, letting their conversation fade into a buzz. He was interrupted again when he heard Elizabeth's light, timid footsteps approaching.

"Balthier?" she asked, pity lacing her tone. Balthier responded to the noise, opening both eyes to glare at her, hating her for intruding on his solitude. It was only then he could feel human. When others were around, the part of him that was turning into a monster became dominant. "Is that you, Balthier?" Elizabeth asked again, stretching a hand toward his face. Was his name Balthier? He couldn't remember. He growled at her, lifting his lip in a snarl. When her hand was close enough, he snapped at it, drawing blood. Elizabeth gasped, drawing her hand back quickly. Bootstrap Bill heaved himself from his place on the wall.

"Hey you, stop that! She's my son's friend! You ain't gonna hurt her, you hear me?" he shouted, interposing himself between Balthier and Elizabeth.

"He bit me!" Elizabeth managed to say in shock as Tai Huang, Sao Feng's first mate, wrapped her hand in a grimy cloth.

"Can't trust these undead pirate types." the pirate said, shooting a dirty look toward Balthier and Bootstrap both. Elizabeth stood up, her hand slipping out of Tai Huang's grubby fingers.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked Bootstrap Bill, who stood like a guard at Balthier's side. The sky pirate was still looking at her fiercely, his yellow eyes luminous in the gloom.

"He's loosing himself, piece by piece, just like everyone else is on this cursed ship. Just like me." Bill said quietly. Elizabeth stretched her hand out toward Balthier's face again, moving it just beyond the reach of his teeth, until she managed to lay a hand on his cheek. He stilled instantly, watching her warily.

"That's terrible, that you've lost yourself so much." Elizabeth whispered, stroking his face with the back of her hand. "Balthier is not your real name, is it? Fran said it was something else." Something clicked in Balthier's head. Fran?

Elizabeth leaned in closer to whisper in his ear. "Fran said that your name was Ffamran, once." Ffamran. That was it, that was who he was, years and years ago. But Ffamran was dead, buried in a tomb of metal armor with a bloody sword as his headstone. A different man walked in his place, free as the birds he soared across the sky with. Or at least the birds he was caged with.

"Yes, that was my name, a long time ago." Balthier croaked, his voice rough from disuse. "I'm Balthier now. Ffamran does not exist."

"Are you Balthier?" Elizabeth asked. "Or are you something else? Have you forgotten me? Fran? The people in your home of Ivalice?"

"Ivalice…" Balthier muttered, clenching and unclenching his fists meditatively.

"Do you remember Ivalice, Ffamran?" he flinched at the name, but Elizabeth cupped his face with her palms, forcing him to look into her eyes. "If calling you by your true name calls to your true nature, I shall use that name as I please. Tell me! Have you forgotten Fran?" she whispered fiercely. Something seemed to click in his mind, and he viewed Elizabeth with new eyes.

"Fran! Is she okay? What has happened since Will betrayed us?" he asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth in a panicked stream. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about Fran.

"She was still on the _Black Pearl_ with Will, the last time I saw her." she replied. "I don't know what happened after Will took control of the ship. I was taken by Sao Feng when he mistook me for the sea goddess, Calypso."

"Sea goddess?"

"Yes, bound in human form, giving control of the seas to men." Elizabeth confirmed. He suddenly remembered the shadow's words: _Set me free, let _me _go home… _he knew what he had to do.

"We have to get out of here." Balthier said, craning his head to see his shackles better.

"How? You're all tied up." Elizabeth said, crossing her arms.

"What if I let you go?" A new voice interrupted them. Elizabeth's head snapped around.

"James!" she cried, running toward the bars. With a jangle of keys, Norrington opened the cell door. "What are you doing?"

"Picking a side." he said as the pirates trapped inside ran to freedom. "Come on, Elizabeth! We have to go, quickly."

"Not until you free Balthier as well." Elizabeth stood her ground. With a sigh, Norrington entered the cell, unlocking Balthier from the wall. They eyed each other with visible tension, and Elizabeth wondered if she would have to break up a fight (which would probably be short lived), but luckily, Balthier stalked past the admiral without even raising a finger. When he came into the night air, the moonlight changed him into a skeleton with a creak, but thankfully, it was too his advantage now.

Elizabeth supervised as the pirates crawled across the tow ropes connecting the _Flying Dutchmen _and Sao Feng's ship. "Hurry, hurry!" she whispered fiercely as Balthier lithely swung onto a rope, as sure footed as a spider on its web, his bony fingers curling about the ropes like hooks.

"You hurry!" he growled. He was so light that the rope was not even rocking as he inched his way down the line. Elizabeth had begun to follow him when Bootstrap Billappeared on the deck, armed with a sharpened wooden stake. He took in sight of Balthier and Elizabeth hanging on the tow rope, and both of them froze, Elizabeth wide eyed, Balthier giving the man a heated glare.

"Stand down, Ffamran." Elizabeth said sternly, and Balthier shook his head.

"Really, must you call me by that name? That name belongs to a sixteen year old boy I abandoned nine years ago, for heaven's sake." he complained.

"It is _your_ name!" Elizabeth answered back, just as Bootstrap Bill said,

"No one leaves the ship. _All hands, prisoner escape!_" he shouted shrilly, and Elizabeth screamed at the same time,

"No! James, hurry, come with us!" she began to crawl back toward the _Flying Dutchman_, but Balthier grabbed her ankle with a strong grip.

"Can't you see? He's sacrificing himself for us to escape!" he told her. Elizabeth kicked him off, and Balthier winced at the sound of his knuckles cracking.

"_Do _something! Cast a spell, something, anything!" she screeched.

"He has chosen his own path, no doubt something disgustingly chivalrous running through his mind. He'll be at peace. If nothing else, grant him that." Balthier said severely. Norrington turned to face them, his face tight with stress and desperation.

"Balthier!" he called, pointing his pistol at the rope they clung to. "Take care of Elizabeth for me!"

"I will." Balthier promised, just as Norrington used his pistol to shoot the rope, and the entire line of pirates crawling down the rope plunged into the sea, screaming. They watched with horror as the admiral collapsed sideways, the makeshift wooden spear protruding from his back.

"_James!_" Elizabeth bawled, trying to swim back toward the _Dutchman_, but Balthier grabbed her firmly, swimming away toward the _Empress. _"Let go of me!" she beat at his arm with her fists, the blunt blows glancing off the hard bone harmlessly.

"Stop it." Balthier snapped, pushing her against the side of the late Sao Feng's ship. "There is nothing you can do. He died to protect you, so you could be here and find Will. Are you going to let that be in vain?" he asked. Elizabeth bit her lip, tears coursing down her face, but she shook her head no. "Good. Now climb up that ladder Tai Huang has let down for us, there's a good girl." he helped boost her out of the water, before climbing up himself. Once on board, he turned toward her, a lopsided smirk on his face. As horrific as it looked, worm eaten and rotting away, Elizabeth felt reassured that the Balthier with her _was_ Balthier, at least for the moment, because of that smile. "Where to, _Captain_?" he said mockingly. Elizabeth took it in stride.

"We make for Shipwreck Cove! We have a Pirate Court to be held, and a battle to fight!" she said authoritatively. Balthier bowed sarcastically, a hand over his still heart.

"And I have a Sea Goddess to free." he muttered when she was out of earshot.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	5. Free

Thanks to **ElTangoDeRoxanne** and **Shay Weaver** for their reviews! Moving into the last chapter! Thinking about a sequel, but that may be a while since I also have other ideas. I'm trying to hurry this up a little because school is starting soon.

I do not own Final Fantasy XII or Pirates of the Caribbean.

TGD

* * *

The journey to Shipwreck Cove was uneventful, to say in the least. They'd seen not hide or hair of the _Flying Dutchman_ for the entire voyage, and Balthier was glad to be free again. He was an eagle, fierce and high flying, and eagles were not beasts to be caged or for clipped wings.

"Ffamran?" Elizabeth's voice called him back to earth. He looked up from where he had been checking Tai Huang's arm, which had been broken in the fight where the _Empress _was captured. The man was ill at ease, breathing heavily as Balthier's cold fingers probed at the swollen flesh around the break. Clearly, Tai Huang did not trust him. Not that he could be blamed, but he _had _seen Balthier eat a human. "Ffamran?" Elizabeth asked again, and Balthier jerked irritably, annoyed by the use of his old name.

"I'm in the middle of something." he snapped, bracing himself for the burn as he drew up a Cleanse spell to rid Tai Huang of infection before casting Cure and healing the broken bones. He exhaled deeply, watching his skin redden and blister slightly.

"White Magick is still the bane of your existence, isn't it?" Elizabeth commented. Balthier nodded, rolling up the cloth Tai Huang had been using as a sling.

"Yes, but basic spells such as Cure or even Cleanse are not as bad as the more advanced ones like Esuna or Curaga. How is it?" he asked the pirate, who flexed his arm.

"Good, good. When can I use a sword again?" Tai Huang asked.

"I would rest for now, but you should be able to be back at full strength by tomorrow." Balthier answered. Tai Huang nodded and walked away, still flexing his arm.

"Enjoying yourself, _doctor_?" Elizabeth teased, sitting down in the seat Sao Feng's first mate had occupied.

"Quite." Balthier said, rubbing his hands with a salve made of mint he'd made from Sao Feng's supplies which soothed the White Magick burns. He finished by wrapping his fingers and palms in fresh, white bandages so that the flesh didn't fester; not that it would kill him. His body already festered in the moonlight— he didn't need it to do so in the sunlight as well. He watched the hulk of Shipwreck Island, where lie Shipwreck Cove and the town of Shipwreck, spread across the horizon, seemingly rising out of the sea. He lazed against the ship rail, watching Elizabeth slyly. "What think you of being a pirate lord, Captain?" he asked, his tone jesting.

"I don't really know." she replied, toying with the charm Sao Feng had given her. Balthier frowned.

"What's that?"

"Oh." Elizabeth tucked it back into her shirt. "It is one of the Nine Pieces of Eight. With all of them together, Calypso can be freed." she said.

"The shadow in my dreams… I think it is her." Balthier said musingly. "She promised to lift my curse in return for rescuing Jack with you, and then freeing her." he dangled the pirate medallion from its chain, letting it swing back and forth idly. Elizabeth shuddered. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I had hoped never to see one of those for the rest of my life. I have had quite enough of zombie pirates." she said quietly. Balthier smirked, dropping the chain back around his neck and tucking it into his shirt.

"Shall I leave you, then?" he asked, standing up as if to go somewhere. Elizabeth grabbed his hand, pulling him back.

"No!" she cried, then bit her lip. "I didn't mean you, I meant Davy Jones's crew. I hate them, for everything they've done, to you, to James, to Bootstrap Bill and… Will…" she trailed off. Balthier snorted derisively.

"I've quite enough of that scut." he said. "Nasty, backstabbing piece of scum, that."

"He was to be my husband." Elizabeth snapped. Balthier shrugged, watching as Tai Huang relieved the helmsman and took his place, skillfully steering the ship between the rocks guarding the entrance to Shipwreck Cove. The sun was fast sinking below the horizon, and lanterns were winking on inside the ships moored about the cove. Luckily, clouds obscured the moon. Balthier whistled in awe, staring at what was called Shipwreck Town.

It was a pile of ships, artfully stacked each ship on top of the other and precariously balanced to form a mountain of sorts rising out of the sea. The faint sound of town chatter could be heard inside, accompanied by the occasional pistol shot or splash as someone fell out of a porthole. The band of Asian pirates led them through a dizzying labyrinth of corridors and stairs, all weaving in and out of the ships forming the town. Balthier quickly gave Elizabeth some tips on treating with pirate lords:

"Number one: _act as if you are worth your salt._ Don't let them doubt your authority. Someone wants to argue? Argue right back." He whispered in her ear. Elizabeth turned slightly to face him, a crooked smile on her face.

"Not all people are gifted with a tongue dripping silver like yours." she said playfully. Balthier shrugged and readjusted some of his rings.

"Too true, too true. That aside, number two: _don't _be chivalrous. It's that kind of thinking that gets you in deep trouble. As I always say, the best intentions invite the worst kind of trouble. Look where that got me— look where that got Admiral Norrington. Think of yourself, for a change." Balthier said as they stopped just outside a room where several pirates sat around a long table, arguing. They came in just in time to hear Jack say,

"Well, I am content as a cucumber to wait until ole Sao Feng arrives, eh?"

"Sao Feng is dead." Elizabeth said, walking forward with her shoulders squared and slamming her sword into a stuck globe by the doorway. "He fell to the _Flying Dutchman_." In an instant, there was a massive uproar from the assembled pirates.

"_Sao Feng_ made _you_ captain? Blimey, they're just givin' away the bloody post now!" Jack Sparrow howled, and Elizabeth pushed past him. "Balthier?" Balthier turned at the mention of his pseudonym, to find Jack grinning ear to ear. "I knew you'd make it off that ship! Though, you look a little worse for wear…" he gestured to his face, drawing circles around his kohl-marked eyes. Balthier knew what he referred to, though. His eyes were still yellow and his teeth sharp, and they didn't seem to be fading back at all.

_Maybe I went too far over to come back?_ he wondered, as Elizabeth tried to get the Pirate Court's attention.

"Jones is under the command of Beckett! They're on their way here, even as I speak! Someone has betrayed us." she shouted, somehow managing to make herself heard over the undisciplined chatter.

"Who is the traitor? I'll bone 'im!" A huge African pirate rose to his feet, beads clacking from where they hung on his outfit.

"'tis no one among us, do not worry." Barbossa reassured him, raising a hand that resembled a gnarled claw. Elizabeth frowned.

"Where's Will?" she whispered.

"Not among us." Jack muttered back. Elizabeth closed her eyes, knowing what Jack meant. Perhaps Balthier had been right. She shook her head, dislodging the thought. Will had his reasons, she was sure, and one day, he would explain it all to her. Or perhaps she was just being optimistic.

"What'll we do now? They've found us." Barbossa was asking the assembled group. Elizabeth immediately gave her answer.

"_We fight_." she said, pounding a fist on the table. The entire room erupted in laughter, and even Balthier, who was supposed to be backing her, couldn't hold back a snigger.

"I told you, chivalry gets you nowhere among thieves." he murmured in her ear.

"Obviously you get by somehow." she replied smartly.

"Ah, but that was part of my upbringing, and no doubt yours, _Ms. _Swann." he said mockingly. Elizabeth turned away from him, not having a sharp retort readily available.

"Shipwreck Cove is a veritable fortress— and a _well supplied_ fortress. We shall outlast them, no matter what they do." Mistress Ching argued. Elizabeth opened her mouth to argue, but Barbossa cut her off.

"Now hear me out: In another age, in this very spot where we stand, the First Brethren Court captured a sea goddess and bound her in her bones. You know of whom I speak." Barbossa halted his pacing, cocking his head dramatically. "_Calypso._" A murmur swept the room. "The seas were tamed for us, certainly, but look what else it unleashed! Beckett and his ilk! We now remember not the days where it was the sweat of a man's brow and the strength of his back that made his worth! We are a soft and lazy bunch nowadays. And does that make us better than Beckett?"

"_No!_" the room thundered, and evoked in Balthier a horrible memory of the time Barbossa had been giving a speech to the cursed pirates in the cave. He must have imagined it, but the medallion gave a sharp burn from where it rested in the center of his chest, a permanent reminder of that venture. Barbossa was still speaking.

"We must do it: we must free Calypso." he finished, laying his hands down on the table. The room was silent for a moment and then:

"Shoot him!" someone screamed, as the room erupted in protest. The African pirate leaped to his feet, yelling,

"Cut out his tongue!"

"Shoot him and cut out his tongue and shoot his tongue!" Jack hollered. Tai Huang turned out to be the company's savior.

"Sao Feng would have agreed with Barbossa!" Tai Huang shouted over the clamor.

"Then Sao Feng was also mad!" someone called back. Tai Huang looked ready to explode, until Balthier laid a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back.

"You have done enough, thank you." he whispered. "It is my turn to be mad, now." Balthier stepped forward to stand by Elizabeth, picking up the bolas that served as a gavel and slamming on the table with a resounding thud. The room was instantly quiet, as if someone had cast Silencega on the crowd.

"I agree with Barbossa as well. Call me mad, if you will, but try to see it her way. What call you the sea?" he asked.

"Home." a pirate said, shrugging a shoulder.

"Precisely, and that is exactly what it is to _her_ as well! I realize that we are all pirates, granted, and therefore greedy, but there is no glory in pirating upon a tame sea, where ravenous sea dogs such as your good selves are no better then civilians on comfortable private liners!" he knew the last insult would get to them, and it did.

"How dare you! I'll prove you wrong! I agree! We release Calypso!" a short, fat pirate yelled.

"_We do not!_" the Frenchman yelled, punching him in the face. Balthier put his head in his hands and sighed as pirates leaped to their feet or jumped onto tables, beginning an all out brawl with whatever weapons came handy. One pirate even had a burned out candlestick and was attempting to shove it up another man's nose.

"This is why I have _not_ set myself up as the Pirate King, though Reddas had me slated as his successor. Pirate politics drive me crazy." Balthier groaned, and Barbossa snorted, while Elizabeth stared at him.

"_You're _the Pirate _King_ of Ivalice?" she gaped.

"Sort of, I've never sat still long enough to actually do anything. I've kind of been running away from it, you see," Balthier replied, before standing up again and uncharacteristically roaring at the top of his lungs:

"_Silence! Order in the ranks!_" Unconsciously, he'd used one of the old military commands beaten into the fabric of his being in the Akademy, from his days as a Judge. Needless to say, many of the pirates were so surprised at being addressed that way that they froze where they stood. "As we fight like children over paltry matters, our enemies bear down upon us and the end of piracy draws near. Desist!" he barked, then sat down in an abandoned chair, exhausted by his yelling fit. Someone held a potion bottle out to him, and he took it without thinking. It was half way to his lips when he realized what it was, and raised his eyes to stare into the face of Fran.

He hadn't recognized her at first. She had wrapped a red turban about her ears to avoid attracting attention, and wore a rather nice red jacket to match it, though she still wore her black leather armor underneath.

"Fran." The word dropped almost inaudibly from his mouth, and the ghost of a smile appeared on her face, before suddenly she grabbed him and kissed him ferociously. Her lips were as hot as fire and soft as a splash of water, and he fell into her embrace, twining his fingers into her long white hair and closing his eyes. He could feel the beat of her heart and the blood pulsing through her veins, and she felt _alive_. She felt so very, very good, as if just her being alive was enough to make him living also.

"You are back. I thought I had lost you, again." Fran said, her voice shaking with suppressed emotion. "Ffamran, I was so frightened for you!"

"Well, I'm back now, aren't I? No need to fear. And could you please not call me Ffa—" he began, but Fran silenced him by indulging in another prolonged kiss before allowing him to finish drinking the potion. In the mean time, Barbossa had climbed onto the table.

"Ignoring the two lovebirds over there," he began pointedly, "If we free Calypso, in her gratitude, she will see fit to grant us boons." Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Your boons? No, I think not." Barbossa rolled his eyes.

"You speak your piece then, eh?" he snarled. Jack's lip twitched.

"Release Calypso, and you can pray she will be merciful, but I think not. Can we pretend that she's anything other than a woman scorned, like which fury hell hath no?" he asked, reeling off another of his famous tongue twisters. "We cannot, and surely she will be vengeful. And now, we are left with but one option. I…" he looked extremely bitter. "I agree with Captain Swann and Captain Balthier-apparently-now-also-known-as-Ffamran—" Balthier looked as if he would dearly love to rip Jack limb from limb at this point "— But we must fight."

"You've always run away from a fight!" Barbossa bellowed, while Elizabeth looked extremely smug.

"I have _not_!" Jack shouted back.

"Have so!"

"Have not!"

"You have so, and you know it, you sodding coward!" Balthier raised his voice. Jack wrinkled his nose.

"I have not! I thought you were on my side!" he whined. "I say that we must all submit to the oldest of all old pirate traditions: we must fight, to run away." he said with a triumphant smile.

"Aye!" the group chorused. Balthier looked back at Fran, who stood behind him protectively with her hands clasped about his chest.

"This is just the sort of plan I would expect that man to come up with." he said, and Fran's crimson eyes twinkled with mirth. Barbossa still had a card to play, however.

"As per the code, an act of war, this being exactly that, can only be declared by the pirate king, and there hasn't been one of those for centuries. Now tell me, who will be the Pirate King and lead us to war?" he asked. Jack pointed a finger.

"You made that up! You don't want to fight! You've always run away from a fight." he shouted.

"I have _not_, you disgusting little tooth worm! I call on Cap'n Teague, the keeper of the code, to confirm this!" Barbossa answered heatedly. Jack's face fell.

Heavy footsteps sounded in the hall, and Balthier stared at the man who now entered the room. He looked like an older, more grizzled version of Jack. No doubt this was his father. Balthier thought of himself and his resemblance to the late Doctor Cid, and found himself wondering if all sons looked uncannily similar to their old men.

"You're in my way, boy." Edward Teague said in a gravely voice. Jack edged away from him, and two more ancient men came stumbling forward, bringing a huge book labeled _Pirata Codex_ and laying it on the table. They were followed by a dog bearing keys, which Teague used to open the tome, blowing a thick layer of dust from the pages. He scanned the pages, muttering words through lips that looked like two red raisins.

"Ah…" he said at last. "Barbossa is right." The Frenchman sighed.

"There has not been a king since the First Brethren Court, and that is not likely to change." he complained.

"Why not?" asked Elizabeth.

"Here, the Pirate King is apparently elected by popular vote, unlike in Ivalice where the King is chosen by the former ruler, ensuring that there is always a supreme Pirate lord. If this will be anything like an Ivalician pirate's vote, all the captains will vote for themselves." Fran explained. Elizabeth did not miss that the Viera squeezed Balthier's shoulder when she mentioned Pirate Kings, and the grimace that passed over his face.

"I call for a vote." Jack said, and the assembled pirates murmured.

"Ammand the Corsair!" Ammand said, standing as his crew cheered.

"_Capitaine_ Chevalle, the penniless Frenchman." the Frenchman cried.

"Sri Sumbhajee will vote for Sri Sumbhajee." Sri Sumhajee's interpreter announced.

"Mistress Ching!" the Chinese Piratess said with a face that beckoned no argument.

"Gentleman Jocard." The African pirate said solemnly.

"Elizabeth Swann." Elizabeth said, shaking her head.

"Barbossa!" the named pirate put out.

"Vallenueva!" The Spanish pirate who advocated releasing Calypso said fiercely. Jack twirled his mustache contemplatively before saying:

"Elizabeth Swann." The court erupted again.

"Me! Vote for me!" some of them yelled. Jack smirked.

"The vote is cast, unless you would go against the code?" he asked, and a discordant twang from the corner Captain Teague had retired to with his guitar made all the pirates shudder.

"Very well." Mistress Ching said, her face looking as if a thunder cloud was about to explode out of it. "What say you, Captain Swann, King of the Pirates?" Elizabeth smiled.

"Prepare every vessel sailable. At dawn, we are at war." No one saw Pintel and Ragetti sneak away, the nine pieces of eight collected under Ragetti's jacket.

* * *

Balthier sat with Fran, once more on the Black Pearl. It was still early, and an unseasonably thick fog had rolled in. They both were acting as lookouts, having superior senses compared to the rest of the crew.

"I don't like this fog." Balthier said, worry fringing his words. "I can barely see or hear a thing, and the only scent I've got is that of our own men and the sea."

"Same." Fran said, scanning the horizon. "They are hiding in the mist."

A ship slowly began to materialize out of the fog.

"There! The enemy! Let's get 'em!" Marty, the diminutive pirate screamed from below them. Balthier shook his head, this time breathing as deeply as he could, almost _tasting _the air with his tongue. There. The scent of wood and gunpowder, and many, _many_ men.

"That's not it." he said, just as the fog cleared enough to reveal a horizon flooded with Imperial warships. Fran trembled slightly, her ears, now freed of the turban, quivering.

"Ffamran, you do realize that I might die." she said quietly. Balthier shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun.

"But you might not. Don't be a pessimist, my dear." he said, watching as a dingy bearing Barbossa, Jack, and Elizabeth rowed out to a small sandbar to parlay with Will, Beckett, and Davy Jones.

"They look to do an exchange. Will for Jack." Fran changed the subject. Indeed, Jack and Will had switched places, but not before Barbossa relieved Sparrow of his piece of Eight. Balthier growled, his fingers tightening on the ropes where he and Fran hung.

"Easy." she whispered, stroking a long finger down his spine following the seam down the back of his black and silver vest, and he shivered with badly masked rage.

"I hate that whelp." he snarled.

"You must not kill him. Think of Elizabeth." Fran slid the back of her brown finger along the bottom of the russet hairs on his neck, watching as goose bumps sprang up in reaction to her touch. They both dropped down to the deck to hear Elizabeth's plan.

"The _Black Pearl_ shall be the flagship to lead the attack." she was saying to a very irate looking Barbossa. Will spotted Fran and Balthier approaching, and he blanched with terror, though his face remained neutral. Balthier gave him a terrifying sharp toothed leer, but other then that, did nothing.

"Will we now?" Barbossa snapped at Elizabeth. "Pardon me, your majesty, but my fate has not been in me own hands for long enough. Today, it ends." he tore Sao Feng's piece of Eight from about her neck, and stalked away to where Tia Dalma, now revealed to Calypso, was being brought from the brig, completely bound with ropes. "And now, to begin the rite." Barbossa muttered, dropping the final piece into Ragetti's bowl.

"The items brought together, done. The burning, fulfilled." he said, using a canon lighter to set the Pieces of Eight ablaze. "And finally, the words, to be said as if to a lover…" Barbossa raised his head impressively, and boomed dramatically:

"_Calypso! I release you from your human bonds!_" Nothing happened.

"Is that it?" Pintel asked. Balthier shook his head, stepping forward.

"It's not right." he said, smirking at Barbossa. "You would not yell your love to the world, would you, Captain?" Barbossa's face reddened.

"Well then you say it, you heartless, undead excuse for a human!" he shouted. Balthier's face twisted with rage for a moment, but then he was calm and collected again as he leaned toward Calypso.

"My lady, please do not forget the promise we made." he pleaded, not knowing if she heard him or not. Her head lolled, but her eyes focused on him.

"You… you only fulfilled… 'alf of it…" she said somewhat thickly. "Free… free…"

"Calypso." Balthier murmured, his nose almost touching her ear as he stroked the side of her face with a cold hand. "I release you from your human bonds." He stepped back, and she smiled at him.

"Thank you…" the words were like wind, blowing around him. The bowl ignited, hovering in the air before her. She leaned in, inhaling the smoke rising from the burning contents inside, shaking slightly as if fighting to contain herself.

"Calypso!" Will shouted, fighting to the front of the crowd. The sea goddess directed a ferocious glare at him. "Who betrayed you at the First Brethren Court? Do you know?" he asked.

"Name him." it was a command. Will obliged, a twisted smile on his face.

"_Davy Jones._"

* * *

Movin' right along… trying to hurry and get this done…


	6. Fires of War

I hope this isn't too action packed… Thanks to **ElTangoDeRoxanne**for reviewing! Yes, I am doing a sequel like I said, but that might not come very soon because I have a lot on my plate and a few other ideas I am working on. But I will post an alert when the sequel is up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or Final Fantasy XII

* * *

"_It was Davy Jones._" Will said, naming the man who had betrayed Calypso in another time. Her face was contorted as if in pain, and she began to grow, rising taller and taller, the ropes unwinding about her bulk. The _Black Pearl_ groaned and began to sink under her ever increasing weight. Now, she was the same height as the mast, and stared down at the men gathered near her feet, gasping under the strain the ropes put on her chest.

"Calypso! I come before you as a servant to your will, humble and contrite." Barbossa shouted, kneeling in a manner that Balthier thought anything but humble. "I have fulfilled me vow to you, and now ask your favor. Spare me self, me ship, and crew, but unleash your fury upon those who dare pretend themselves your masters, and mine."

Balthier felt rage stir in the pit of his stomach again. Vow? He rose, and looked the sea goddess straight in the eye.

"We made a deal, my lady." he said. "You came to me in my dreams, seeking my aid, for nights you plagued me with nightmares that came even as I stood in waking. You promised to free me as well, if I freed you. You were right, my lady. You _were _betrayed! By him!" Balthier pointed to Barbossa, who looked ready to kill. "I fulfilled my promise, and I ask nothing from you, no boons and no favors, only that you fulfill your promise now." he said. Calypso smiled at him warmly, and her eyes shifted to Barbossa menacingly. Barbossa jumped to his feet.

"If I mean to use you, surely he means to as well. I look to keep you free!" The sea goddess shook her head, before shouting something unintelligible in a deep voice. She exploded into a shower of crabs, raining down upon the deck. Balthier struggled to keep his footing, but ended up being swept into the sea, smacking his head on the rail as he went.

_Perfect,_ he thought glumly, as everything went dark.

* * *

He was in the prison cell again, as he always was in the dreamscape, and Tia Dalma— no, Calypso, stood at the door, a shadow no longer. Balthier approached her cautiously.

"Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades, you have my t'anks." Calypso said, her voice no longer in his mind, but something he could actually hear.

"I suppose that the proper thing to say is 'you're welcome'?" Balthier asked, leaning against the door. "Am I going to be let out now?"

"I wish I could do more, I really do." she shook her head, a red tear slipping down her brown face. Balthier frowned. He did not know the gods cried blood. "When you were on Davy Jones's ship, you succumbed completely to de curse. Everyt'ing known as 'Ffamran' and 'Balt'ier'… died." she whispered, catching the droplet before it fell and staring at it as it dangled from her finger.

"Does that mean I am cursed to live like this forever?" Balthier asked, trying his best not to scream even as despair gripped him. Calypso shook her head.

"Dere is a way to bring you back," she began. Balthier gripped the bars in a white knuckled grip.

"Tell me!" he cried. The sea goddess locked her eyes with his.

"How much do you love the woman Fran?" she asked.

"With my life, or what I have left of it with her." Balthier answered firmly. Calypso gave him a cunning smile.

"And I love you with mine." Fran's voice sounded in the prison, and she appeared with the sea goddess on the other side of the bars. "I would not leave you, even in death." she whispered, reaching through a gap to hold his hand.

"If I returned you to the way a human lived, she would be forced to watch you die. But, you cannot return to being human, Ffamran, de Hume you were is no more.

"The only way to bring you back, truly, is to bind your soul to Fran's, that her life becomes yours, and should she die, so would you. No matter how badly you are injured, as long as she is alive, so you would be." Calypso said, the teardrop still hanging from her finger.

"I accept." Fran said immediately, her grip like a vice on Balthier's wrist.

"Do you agree to de terms, Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades? Your body will still be considered 'dead', but a monster you shall be no longer, the Darkness's hold retreating, and with Fran you shall be for the rest of both of your lives." the goddess turned to Balthier.

"Agreed." he nodded.

"Then I shall seal the pact. Bring forth the cursed Medallion." Calypso held out her hand, and Balthier fished the Medallion from about his neck and gave it to her. She smeared the teardrop of blood on the skull insignia imprinted in the gold, and tore the chain off with inhuman strength. The Medallion glowed blinding, brilliant white as she pressed it between her palms, and then without warning, she pushed it into Balthier's chest, right where his heart should have been.

It felt as if white-hot poker was being shoved agonizingly between his ribs. His head was thrown back, his mouth open in a soundless scream of pain. Fran was screaming too, her hand over her heart, and her grip was so tight on his wrist her nails were cutting into his flesh. With a sound akin to breaking glass, the bars on the cell door shattered into pieces, and Balthier collapsed through the door, panting as Calypso brought her hand away.

"It is done. The mark of the soul binding lies as your heart, for it is never to be removed." she said sternly. Balthier managed a lopsided smile as he wiped sweat from his brow.

"I daresay you have had enough of people cutting out their hearts, haven't you, my lady?" he joked weakly. Calypso gave a deep resonating laugh, and at the sound, the prison cell vanished, collapsing into a pile of crabs, and she melted in with them. As he stood, a voice whispered in his mind:

_Farewell, Ffamran Mied Bunansa Archades. When the battle is done, get you to the _Flying Dutchman_, the ship that traverses the dimensions of the world, and at sundown, you shall find yourselves back in Ivalice._

"Thank you, Calypso." Balthier said, as he stared into the rapidly clouding sky above the _Black Pearl_.

* * *

They were back from the dream world, and the battle deciding the fate of Piracy was soon to be joined. Balthier courteously helped Fran to her feet, and she picked a few stray crabs from her hair. Balthier wrenched one from where it hung from his ear, apparently trying to be a new earring. A rather painful earring.

"No thanks, my friend." he laughed, throwing it overboard. He didn't know why, but despite the morbid attitude on the boat following Calypso's apparent betrayal, he felt especially lighthearted and cheerful. Maybe it had to do with having a heart literally made of gold. Or maybe it had to do with being a little less "dead". Balthier massaged his chest gingerly. He still had no heartbeat, and his flesh was still cold, but he felt an irregular bump under skin of his chest, somewhere between his ribs. Without a doubt, it was the medallion.

"How do you feel?" Fran asked, pulling the last crab tangled in her stomach veil free. Balthier turned to her, a smile nearly splitting his face in half.

"I feel lively." he said, pulling her into a kiss. Fran's ear twitched, but she did not object as they pulled apart.

"Enough." Barbossa said dully from his place by the rail. "I have enough of seeing you lovebirds. Calypso has betrayed me."

_Just as you betrayed her_, Balthier thought. A harsh wind suddenly began to blow, the clouds darkening and the ropes on the ship creaking. The smell of rain was heavy on the air.

"It begins." Fran said, shouldering her Perseus bow and her quiver of arrows. Balthier looked down to see that Deathbringer, Danjuro, and Fomalhaut had been returned to him as well. Clearly it was thanks to goddess. Elizabeth turned to Fran.

"You are right. The fight still must be had." she said. Barbossa shook his head.

"I'm not ready to be a-dyin' for your revenge." he said gruffly.

Her eyes were strangely vacant as she walked toward the bow. "Then what shall we die for?" she asked.

"Listen up, you lot!" she barked, jumping to the rail and holding a rope for balance. "The Brethren will still be looking to the _Black Pearl_ to lead the assault. They _will not_ see frightened rats upon a wrecked ship, turning to face the opposite horizon and fleeing, our tails between our legs. No! They will see free men, who are fighting for what they believe! The enemy will feel our courage, and theirs will fail! They will see the red flash of our cannons, the savage ring of our swords, and they will know us for what we are. Pirates! The true folk of the sea, who live by the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs!" she met Barbossa's eyes, and he stared back.

"Hoist the colors!" Elizabeth commanded, and the crew cheered, raising cutlasses to the sky.

"_Hoist the colors!_" they roared, and Balthier joined in giving the rope a mighty heave, the skull and crossbones rising triumphantly above the deck, along with the flags of the surrounding ships. He felt hopeful, even as he stared death in the face possibly for the second time, as the pirates shouted their approval of Elizabeth's choice around him. Even Fran allowed a small smile, which was the equivalent of a joyous yell in Balthier's opinion. They squinted toward the enemy fleet as one ship began to start forward: the _Flying Dutchman_. As a heavy rain began to fall, a screeching voice could be heard as the clouds circled overhead, thunder rumbling and lightning crashing.

The sails of the _Black Pearl_ bellied with the rising wind, springing forward to meet the dread ship of the dead like a spirited stallion. The deck was mayhem as Gibbs, Barbossa, Will and Elizabeth ran back and forth, shouting orders. Then there was a deep sucking noise, drowning out their yells. Fran leaned over the side of the ship, her ears almost plastered back against her head by the wind and rain.

"_Ffamran!_" she shouted over the din. "_Maelstrom!_" Balthier echoed her yell, relaying the message back to the helm. Elizabeth immediately turned to Barbossa.

"You must take the helm. You're the only one who can." she begged. Barbossa stared at them all inscrutably.

"That seems to be proper now, doesn't it, your nibs!" he said with a sudden laugh, back to his normal self. "Brace the yards, you cack-handed deck apes!" he roared with enthusiasm. "Dying is the day worth livin' for!"

"Too true!" Balthier agreed, finding humor better than abject despair as he loaded Fomalhaut with Dark shot. Fran put an arrow to her bowstring, rocking slightly for balance on the bucking ship. The _Pearl_ turned sharply under Barbossa's hand to follow the spiral of the raging whirlpool, and the _Dutchman_ mimicked her.

"She's gaining on us!" Will shouted. Barbossa glanced at the sea-flora encrusted ship.

"More speed! Haul your wind and hold your water!" he cackled, even as the cannon ports on the ship thudded open.

"_Prepare to broadside!_" Elizabeth ordered, and the men rushed to their posts, shells bursting around them and ripping chunks out of the _Black Pearl_'s deck. They fired cannonball after cannonball at the undead pirate ship, amid shouts of "Fire!" and "Fire all!" while the projectiles arcing across the maelstrom's maw, but the _Flying Dutchman_ kept coming, her gun ports like leering mouths. Which was, in fact, what they were made to look like.

Now the fish men swung across, screaming challenges. Balthier shot the first one to step onto the ship, the bullet exploding with Dark energy so strong that it flung the merman from the ship and into the whirlpool's gullet. The next shot never came— they were too close now to use his gun, and Balthier holstered it, bringing out his next weapon: Deathbringer. There was always the chance that even a thin knick by the blade would bring certain death, so dark was its magic, and hence its name. He gutted a Company soldier that swung at him without even feeling the slightest bit of bloodlust, and blocked the wild swing of a merman attacking him. Then he ducked as an arrow whooshed over his head, striking the pirate in the middle of his chest. The merman convulsed as electrical energy pulsed through his body, the extra water inside of him an excellent conductor.

"Elizabeth!" Will shouted in a lull in the battle. She rushed toward him, clashing swords with a man whose head looked like a giant fish on its side. "Will you marry me?" he asked. Her mouth opened and shut.

"I don't think it is the time for this!" she screeched. Will grabbed her arm.

"But I love you, and it may be now or never. I've made my choice: it is time for you to make yours. What will it be?" he asked. Elizabeth glanced around, then shouted, much to Will's shock,

"_Ffamran!_" _Who was that?_ he wondered, and to his surprise, Balthier turned from where he had just finished hacking off the arm of a Company sailor. "You're the Pirate King of Ivalice, aren't you?" she asked, spinning to avoid getting her own arm cut off.

"Sort of," came the strained reply. "I told you, I've been slithering out!"

"But you're a Captain too, right? Marry us!" she cried. Balthier looked lost for words.

"I've not— not even when I was— I don't—!" it was interesting to see that the man whose tongue usually ran words like quicksilver had suddenly run out of them.

"Make it up!" Fran said, giving his shoulder a pat, before grabbing Danjuro from his belt and blocking a sword swing for him. She then shoved the dagger through the antagonist's throat.

"William Turner Junior," Balthier began, somersaulting off the poop deck and kicking a fish man in his squishy face. "And Captain Elizabeth Swann! In life and death, in peace and war do you promise to _shove your inflated face in the cannon and die, asshole!_" he howled, suddenly drawing Fomalhaut and shooting a merman in the face. Will and Elizabeth frowned. That didn't sound right at all! Balthier seemed to realize this, and corrected his mistake. "Er, belay that! Do you take Will to be your husband, Elizabeth?" he shouted, his cheeks red.

"I do," she said. Will looked breathless.

"Great!" he gasped.

Balthier finished chanting a hurried, jumbled string of words, pointing toward somewhere just behind their heads. As soon as the spell was out of his mouth, a small ball of crackling electricity formed at the tips of his fingers, and he directed lightning bolts out of it at the milling crowd of men boarding their ship. Many fell where they stood, writhing as they were electrocuted. He continued the makeshift wedding ceremony. "And in sickness and health, which I pray you can come out of here with, do you take Elizabeth to be your wife?"

"I do." Will said, managing to get close enough to Elizabeth in a gap in the fighting to put a hand about her waist.

"You may kiss! I'll buy you time." Balthier said, casting Sleepga over the surrounding soldiers and mermen. They dropped to the deck, snoring. Will and Elizabeth leaned toward each other, lips parting, eyes closing—

"Not enough time! _Just kiss!_" Balthier snapped as more foes swarmed onto the deck.

"Ffamran, duck!" he heard Fran's warning and dropped to the ground, just as a well aimed Scathe spell pretty much disintegrated all the men in its way. Fran quickly grabbed a rope, gesturing to Balthier to board the _Flying Dutchman_ with her. "Jack is fighting Jones. He will not last against such an enemy." she told him.

"So send the man who can't die unless his soul mate does?" he asked sarcastically.

"It does seem a sound strategy, does it not?" Fran replied. "Now finish marrying them, quickly." Balthier quirked an eyebrow.

"Funny how they want to get married at a time like this." he remarked, turning back toward the couple. "As Captain of the _Strahl_, I name you man and wife! Now board the _Dutchman_! On the double!" That was the second time in the last twenty-four hours a military command had been issued. Elizabeth noted that he seemed to use them when stressed, folding back on a second nature no one knew about. Perhaps he had been a soldier? Come to think of it, his fighting form, when _not_ a maniacal zombie or a berserker (which was the only times she'd seen him fight before), was rather clipped and precise, to deliver an exact amount of power for the most damage. It reminded her painfully of Norrington.

Fran and Balthier swung across first, then threw the rope back to them, joining into the fray. Immediately, he started searching for Jack and Davy Jones. He finally spotted them: Jack swung round and round the rigging, dodging other swinging pirates in the process, while Davy Jones suddenly dropped down from above, nearly on top of him.

"Well look who it is! The little runaway!" Jones hooted, before an arrow sprouted like a grotesque flower from his shoulder. He twitched slightly at the charge of the Lightning Arrow, but reached up with his claw-hand, snapping it off and shrugging the point out. Balthier then dodged a punch with a tentacle flailing at the end of it, spinning with it in an attempt to slice Davy Jones with Deathbringer. The pirate blocked it with his crab-claw hand, before grabbing it and wrenching it from Balthier's grip. Balthier relinquished it, not fancying to be too close to the octopus man, and drew Fomalhaut, cursing. He dodged wild swings from his own sword, loading a packet of Mud shot into the gun, before carefully taking aim at Jones's head and firing. When the bullet impacted his face, it exploded into a large splat of mud, blinding him. The pirate captain roared in frustration, pawing at his eyes, and Balthier smiled victoriously, this time loading Dark shot. Before he could fire, he heard Will's voice, raised in warning:

"Balthier, watch out!" Then a sword tip carved into his shoulder, stopping at the bone. He cried out in pain, though the cut did not bleed, and twisted, revealing his attacker to be none other than Bootstrap Bill. His face was vacant, insanity dancing in his eyes, but he still seemed to recognize Balthier.

"Barbossa's crew must pay." he was muttering, raising his sword for a second strike, but Will bowled into him, knocking him against the rail.

"He's my friend. You'll not hurt him, father." he growled. Balthier raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't aware we were friends." he said, drawing a Cure spell and closing the cut on his shoulder. This time, the White Magick worked without pain. Will shrugged.

"But we are not enemies, either."

"Where's Elizabeth? I thought she was with you." Balthier asked.

"She's right… no!" Will roared, when he spotted her. She lay on the deck, unmoving, while Davy Jones towered over her, blinking mud from his eyes. Will rushed him, and Jones didn't even turn as the sword was rammed home. He screamed, as if in pain, but stopped abruptly.

"Have you forgotten? I'm a heartless wretch." he snapped, twisting the blade so that Will could not pull it free. He pivoted on his peg leg, spinning Will along for the ride, until the sword was shattered by a gunshot.

"Thanks." Will gasped, his ears ringing. Balthier grinned.

"My shot is faster, or my name's not Balthier." the sky pirate boasted. Fran patted his head affectionately.

"Your name isn't Balthier." she chided him, and he snorted.

"Technicalities, my dear. I've told you, I don't like Ffamran."

Davy Jones finished wrenching the sword tip from his chest, tossing it away, and lowered the stolen Deathbringer to a relaxed position.

"Could it be… love? I don't recall allowing my crew to get sweet hearts, cur. Especially non-human ones." he snarled.

"I wasn't your crew, I was your prisoner!" Balthier argued. Davy Jones ignored him, turning to face Will and Elizabeth, understanding on his face. "You, too? This is too good! But love is a bond easily and _painfully_ severed." he laughed, turning to stab Will.

"Stop right there, or I'll break your heart!" someone shouted. Balthier whirled.

"Jack!" the pirate glanced at him, then back to Jones, clutching a faintly thumping heart in his hands. "Stop, Davy Jones. I've got your life or death in me hands."

"You're cruel, Sparrow." Davy Jones spat. Jack smiled roguishly.

"You're the one threatening a wife." he returned. Jones spun with a roar, facing Will.

"A wife? Not anymore! I'll make her a widow!" Balthier knew what was going to happen, and so did Fran. He desperately tried to load shot into his gun faster, and Fran tried to chant the incantation for Stop without stumbling over the words, but they were both too slow.

* * *

Will didn't scream as the dark blade was pushed into his heart. Luckily for him, the Deathbringer's magic did not take this time, failing to kill him immediately. Unluckily, he was still dying a painful death. Balthier finished loading the shot into his gun, bringing it up to fire, but Davy Jones laughed disdainfully.

"You got the wrong target, sonny." he spat at the sky pirate's feet. Balthier's eyes darted to the heart, still beating in Jack's hands. Jack looked torn, his mustache twitching as he looked from Jones to Will and back.

Fran dropped to Will's side with Elizabeth.

"Don't leave me! Look at me!" Elizabeth was sobbing. Fran pushed her away.

"He needs to breathe. Get Deathbringer out." The words were short and sharp. Elizabeth tenderly pulled the sword from Will's body, easing the blade out. Fran had Curaga ready as soon as the first drop of blood dripped out, and the spell enveloped Will in healing light, but it wasn't enough. It was as if remnants of Deathbringer's magic clung to the wound, draining the spell away. Fran tried again, with the same result. Elizabeth watched, tears rolling down her face.

"Jack, think of something." Balthier said grimly.

"What?" Jack yelped, panicking. "What are you going to do?" he asked. Balthier put a hand to his forehead, his other resting loosely at his side. His body was pulsing with power.

"I'm going to blow this fish out of the water!" he shouted, as all of them, Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Fran, and Jones were sucked into the void.

* * *

There were stars everywhere, stretching on forever and ever. Jack stared at Balthier, who had green light spinning around his feet.

"Stay behind him." Fran said quietly. "This is a Quickening, and as long as we are out of range, and he doesn't do anything too flashy, we are fine."

"You mean this isn't flashy?" Jack asked, squeezing the heart in his hand like a comfort ball.

"This is only a rank one Quickening. Balthier can do much more than this— he is only trying to give you time. Don't waste it."

Balthier focused on Jones, summoning the six orbs of light with his mind. They circled his body like eager dogs waiting for the command to kill. Davy Jones seemed frightened by the show.

"It won't kill me!" he shouted, his voice shaking. "You can't kill me with this attack unless you kill your friends, too!" Balthier's eyes were glowing with power.

"I don't care, you flea-bitten, lily-livered piece of a fish-mongers' worst catch!" he hissed. "_Fires of war!_" Balthier named the Quickening, directing the spheres at Davy Jones. They spun through the air, detonating on impact, filling the void with blinding light and roaring sound.

* * *

They were returned to the boat with an unceremonious bump. Balthier was on one knee, panting from the Mist drain he was now experiencing as a side effect of the Quickening. His eyelids fluttered, the Mist thrall still evident in his eyes when Fran peered into his face. And Davy Jones was taking his final breaths, as Jack held Will's hand to the hilt of a rusted dagger and stabbed the heart.

His beard rippled, and he turned his face to the sky. In his last moments, a tear ran down his face. "Calypso…" the word was barely more than a whisper, and slowly, he began to fall, over the railing and into the mouth of the maelstrom, until he was lost in the depths.

Will closed his eyes. Elizabeth clutched the sides of his face, wailing.

"No, _no! _Will!" she wept freely, even as the crew of the _Flying Dutchman_ approached, Bootstrap Bill with a dagger in his hand.

"She's going down! We'll not survive it!" Fran shouted to Elizabeth, and Jack pulled her away. Fran pulled Balthier to his feet, and he stumbled, leaning heavily upon her, his eyes glassy. "Balthier, can you hear me?" she asked. "The _Dutchman_ is being sucked into the Maelstrom, and we will go down with it if you do not do as I say. I know you are not feeling the best right now, but you must cast Float so we can walk on the air and escape." It was clear Balthier's mind was still not fully there, though his eyes were clearing.

"Why c-can't you cast it?" he mumbled.

"Time and Arcane magicks were always your thing. You like meddling with time, remember?" Fran was too proud to admit she didn't know the incantation for the Float spell. Balthier blinked a few times, tiredly, and began to attempt casting the spell, the words lethargically falling from his lips. Fran slapped him about the face a few times. "You can't do spell casting like that!" she hissed. Her blows brought Balthier fully back to reality.

"Fine then!" he huffed, raising his hand and standing under his own power. The spell came more naturally now, and when he pulled his hand back, they lifted into the air. Elizabeth screamed and clung to Jack's neck as the air rippled, supporting them.

"I'm flying! I'm flying! Take that, Davy Jones! I'm a bird who learned to fly!" he squawked, running in circles. Balthier quickly downed an ether, negating the Mist drain.

"Good for you, Jack, now let's move!" he vaulted over the railing of the _Flying Dutchman_, running across the water toward the _Black Pearl_. With a gurgle, the _Dutchman_ was swallowed by the vortex, a thunderous boom and splash announcing its passing. The maelstrom dissipated, and the skies cleared, sunlight shining once more.

* * *

The crew of the _Pearl_ stared as Fran, Balthier, Elizabeth, and Jack climbed over the side, not even wet from the sea.

"How—" Barbossa began, but Jack waved him away.

"Sea turtles, mate." he said. "Came up under me feet and carried me all the way."

"Sir! The _Endeavour_'s still comin' on strong. What'll we do? I think it's time we honored that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions and—" Gibbs tried to say, but Jack murmured,

"I've never been one for tradition. Make ready the guns!"

"Belay that!" Barbossa roared.

"Belay what he said!" Jack matched him. When Gibbs protested, Jack cut him off. "No, shush, belay, belay! Shut up! Ready the cannons!"

The _Flying Dutchman_ leaped clear of the waves, wood and shrapnel flying everywhere. Balthier eyed it warily. "I hope Will is the Captain." he said to Fran, who nodded.

"As do I." Sure enough, Will could be heard barking orders. Jack smiled.

"Full canvas!" The ships began to turn, flanking the _Endeavour_. When they were at full broadside, Jack shouted the fatal words.

"Fire!" seven voices echoed the command.

The cannons flashed and boomed, shells shredding the flagship where she sailed. Black gunpowder poured out of her sides, crackling as it ignited. Soldiers ran helplessly across the deck, screaming or diving into the sea.

* * *

Lord Cutler Beckett stood alone on the deck as it fell to pieces around him. Oddly, despite the cannon fire deafening him, and the ship's groaning as it was smashed, wood bouncing off his jacket, he felt at peace.

He walked down the vaporizing stairwell, his hand trailing along a rapidly vanishing handrail, watching with jaded eyes as his empire was destroyed. "It was… just good business." he whispered to himself, over and over again. He took in the sight of men dying, flying across the deck as it was obliterated, and could only find the words, "It was just good business."

The mainmast fell with a groan, crashing into the sea. Glass shattered and wood snapped, men screamed and powder exploded. _What a lovely orchestra, _Beckett thought, _such a wonderful herald to my end. _The flames licked up to greet him, and he welcomed them with open arms, allowing them to devour him without a sound.

* * *

Yay! Last chapter, coming right up!


	7. Back

Thank you all, so much for reading this. I loved doing this story almost as much as the first. The sequel will be "Fountain of Youth" themed, though it will be a completely original plotline because the movie is clearly not out yet. I hope you look forward to it! Thanks to my very faithful reviewers, **ElTangoDeRoxanne**and **Shay Weaver**, who reviewed for most of the chapters, if not all of them. I apologize for the short ending, but this seemed the best way to do it. I will post an alert for a sequel, but there will be no preview as I do not know when it will happen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or Final Fantasy XII.

* * *

"They're turning away!" Marty screamed triumphantly. The pirates cheered wildly, and there was much back slapping, hand clapping, and hat throwing. Even Fran removed her helm, allowing her hair to fly freely in the wind, ears swaying. She did not throw it for fear of injuring someone when it came down.

"Mr. Gibbs." Jack said sharply.

"Aye?" Gibbs replied.

"I give you permission to throw my hat." Jack said, removing the said article and handing it over.

"Oh _yes!_ I have always wanted to do this! Hurray!" Gibbs shouted exuberantly, throwing the hat high.

"Now go and get it." Jack said. Gibbs's smile fell as if sucked down the maelstrom, and he tramped off the poop deck, searching for the hat.

Balthier climbed the stairs to stand next to Jack. "All seems well now, doesn't it?" the sky pirate asked, hands on his hips.

"Bloody good, if you ask me. You were amazing in that battle." Jack replied, still staring over the happy sea of pirates.

"The sun sets upon our victory." Fran said, and Jack turned toward them.

"Why do you sound so glum?" he asked, looking back and forth between them.

"At sundown, when the _Dutchman _departs for the next world, we are to be upon it, to return home to our Ivalice, possibly to never see you again." Fran replied. Jack's face fell, and he grabbed Balthier's shoulders.

"You can't mean it, mate. Ffammy, you don't mean it." Balthier's face was opened in horror.

"_Ffammy?_" his voice was just short of a screech. "_Ffammy?_ I'll show you I don't mean it!"

"You don't mean it? What a friend!" Jack said, backing away.

"A friend? I'll show you what a friendship with Balthier Bunansa is like! I'll blow your brains across the deck! I'll boil you down and use you as airship fuel for the _Strahl_! I'll- I'll—!" he stood gasping, chest heaving with exertion. "Fran! I—" he spluttered. "The nerve of him!"

"Fine, I didn't mean it, Balthier." Jack said seriously. "Though, your last name is Bunansa? Sounds like—" he stopped when Balthier put a hand on Fomalhaut.

"Say 'banana' or 'bonanza' and I swear I shall carry out all the threats I have ever given you." he warned, eyes glinting dangerously. They were interrupted when Elizabeth strode by.

"Jack, I'm leaving. It is the last day Will will have on shore for ten years, and I intend to spend it wisely." she said. "It would have never worked out between us."

"You keep telling yourself that, darling." Jack grinned.

"I'm married." Elizabeth said flatly. "Ffamran? Fran? You are leaving?" she asked. Fran nodded solemnly.

"I will miss you, then." She did not say she would especially miss Balthier, and instead said, "Take care of Ffamran, Fran, and keep him out of trouble."

"It's _Balthier_, and we're sky pirates! Trouble is our middle name." Balthier joked. Fran smiled, the expression looking out of place to Elizabeth.

"I have taken care of him for the last nine years. I will continue to do so for the rest of our lives." she said.

"You're not my nursemaid, Fran." Balthier grumbled, and Elizabeth laughed.

"I am taking a boat to shore, but if you come I can take you to the _Dutchman_, if that is where you must go."

"My thanks," Balthier bowed, the same way he had to her on the deserted island all those months ago, his hand over his heart. When he straightened, Elizabeth grabbed his face in her hands, and pressed herself to him in a kiss. Balthier felt heat flood his cheeks, and when they broke apart, he asked,

"Must I remind you you're married, and therefore should not be kissing every man who catches your fancy, Mrs. Turner?" Elizabeth blushed.

"Did Calypso not lift your curse?" she asked, holding his hand. He took her fingers in his icy grip and pushed them over his heart, so she could feel the Medallion imbedded in his chest. Her face was twisted in horror.

"At least I am a monster no longer." he said, trying to reassure her, and Elizabeth nodded.

"At least." she didn't sound convinced. Balthier turned back to the rest of the crew.

"Well, goodbye then." he said.

"Not goodbye." Jack said. "I'll sail all the way to Ivalice one day, just you watch."

"We'll see." Fran said. "Balthier wants to try to fly here."

* * *

The sun dyed the sky red as a goddess's tears, weeping for Will and Elizabeth's sundering, and the departure of Balthier and Fran, friends that would never be forgotten so long as Jack was there to guard their memory. A new necklace hung from his neck, a green glass ring worn around Balthier's finger and an arrowhead from Fran. Jack handed Balthier a badly burned piece of metal, which had been crudely fashioned into an earring. He frowned.

"Jack, what is this?" he asked, holding the clover shaped piece to the fading light.

"Well, it's my piece of Eight. I don't think I need it anymore. Sorry, it's not much, but it should be enough to remind you of this little adventure, aye?" Balthier snorted.

"As if having a piece of enchanted gold in my chest isn't enough." he said, as Jack dove from the side of the _Flying Dutchman_ and swam back to the _Pearl_. The sun slid below the horizon, its warm Caribbean rays caressing Balthier's face one last time, before the ship vanished from the mortal world in a flash of green.

* * *

Balthier opened his eyes, and found himself lying in his bed on the _Strahl_, Fran at his side. It was as if the entire second venture in the Caribbean had never happened. When he sat up, he then realized his clothing was ruined by salt water damage, torn from being stabbed, slashed or shot, and he had an extra earring, the piercing still fresh and tender. It was a clover shaped piece of burned metal.

"Fran?" he asked turning to look at her. She blinked at him sleepily. "We're back."

"I see that." she yawned delicately, attempting to stretch in a bunk that was much too short for her height. "Move, you're in the way." Fran shoved Balthier off the bed, and he tumbled onto the floor.

"You're in a good mood." he said playfully.

"Of course. Now, I suppose you are going to go monopolize the shower and gaze at yourself in the mirror for a half hour, getting every strand of hair perfectly aligned, and your sideburns perfectly sculpted?" she asked. Balthier stood, searching through his wardrobe until he found his regular vest, jade green and gold, and a plain (by his standards) set of his classic trousers.

"Obviously." he replied.

He emerged from the shower feeling like a new man, and now stood before the mirror in the dissipating steam, humming a sky pirate ditty to himself as he shaved a thin layer of stubble attempting to accumulate on his chin. Balthier was quite happy to note that his eyes were back to their honeyed brown shade, and his teeth were no longer sharp, ripping implements. He was tired of being a full on zombie. Half of one, in that he was still sort-of undead, was good enough.

Fran was waiting for her turn in the bathroom just outside the door. He swept past her, leaving a heavily perfumed washroom behind for her to use, and she pushed her way inside, holding her nose. Ah, what it was like to be back into normal habits. Balthier sat heavily in the pilot's seat, rubbing the steering column that had gathered a small coat of dust in their absence, and powered on the ship. The lights came on, winking in greeting like an old friend, and the ship began to shiver, vibrating as if it was ready to go. He set a course for no where in particular, simply pointing the compass dial in a random direction where the map of Ivalice was not filled. Five minutes later, Fran exited the bathroom, and sat down in the co-pilot's chair. She noted the glowing overdrive button, and Balthier's face almost glowing with excitement as his hand hovered over it.

"A course to nowhere…" she mused, and he nodded vigorously. "I did promise I would follow you to the ends of the earth…" more nodding. "And you do have so much more time now than you did before…" Balthier smirked. "I suppose a stop to the ends of the world would not be amiss." she consented.

"An astute observation from my leading lady." Balthier's smirk widened into a full on smile as he punched the button. With a loud boom, the _Strahl_ broke the speed of sound, zooming toward what ever adventure lie on their world's end.

* * *

I love you!


	8. Sequel Alert

This is just an alert that the sequel to this story has been posted. Please visit my profile page to find it. The specifics are listed below:

Title: Younger than Desired

Summary: Searching for the Fountain of Youth, Jack finally sails to Ivalice, only to find the Fountain guarded by a feisty water god, who attacks. Balthier always has the worst kind of luck- now turned sixteen again, can he survive long enough to get uncursed?


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